Johanna Spyri was born in 1827 near Zurich in Switzerland, the daughter of the village doctor. In 1852 she married and moved to Zurich, publishing her first book in 1871. She was a prolific writer for both adults and children but is now chiefly remembered for Heidi, which was published in 1880 and inspired by the landscape of the Alps. Her husband and only son died in 1884 and she devoted the rest of her life to writing and charitable causes. She died in 1901.

Julia Green is the author of Tilly's Moonlight Garden.