Nancy Hale (1908-1988) was born in Boston to a distinguished New England family whose forbearers include Revolutionary War hero Nathan Hale and Harriet Beecher Stowe. She was the author of eight novels, including the bestselling The Prodigal Women, four short story collections, two memoirs, two plays, children's stories, and a biography on Mary Cassatt. The winner of ten O. Henry Awards, Hale published over two hundred stories and essays, eighty of which appeared in The New Yorker, making her one of the most important contributors in the history of the magazine.

Kate Bolick is the author of Spinster: Making a Life of One's Own and co-author of March Sisters: On Life, Death, and Little Women.