Ellis Peters was born Edith Pargeter in 1913. Edith was a chemist's assistant until the outbreak of World War II, when she joined the WRNS as a teleprinter operator. During the war, Edith continued to write, and by VE day she was the author of ten novels. Although best remembered as the author of the Cadfael novels, Edith Pargeter was also a respected historical novelist.
