Susan Wittig Albert┬аgrew up on a farm in Illinois and earned her Ph.D. at the University of California at Berkeley. A former professor of English and a university administrator and vice president, she is the author of the China Bayles Mysteries, the Darling Dahlias Mysteries, and the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter. Some of her recent titles include┬аWidowтАЩs Tears,┬аCatтАЩs Claw,┬аThe Darling Dahlias and the Confederate Rose, and┬аThe Tale of Castle Cottage. She and her husband, Bill, coauthor a series of Victorian-Edwardian mysteries under the name Robin Paige, which includes such titles as┬аDeath at Glamis Castle┬аand┬аDeath at Whitechapel.