Raised in Montana, Raleigh Barlowe has earned graduate degrees in History and Economics. Most of his professional career was spent as a teacher, researcher, and department chairman at Michigan State University from which he retired in 1981 as a distinguished professor. Since retirement he has turned to writing historical fiction as a hobby. Earlier published novels include Fain Would I Climb: Sir Walter Raleigh Tells His Life Story and The Blackening of Richard III.