Geoffrey Foster was born in London, England in 1933, and his childhood was mostly spent in Kent and the south-eastern suburbs of London. His father was a London policeman most of his working life, and his mother, when she worked, was a Pitman-trained shorthand typist (like Marjorie and Winnie in this story). He has two sisters, five and thirteen years younger than himself; his youngest son is studying Law and biological science. He went to public elementary and secondary schools and then to the University of Cambridge, where he studied engineering. Moving to Australia in 1959, he taught for 36 years at the University of Queensland, first Mechanical Engineering and then educational development. He retired early in 1995. As well as writing, he likes reading, listening to music, solving cryptic crosswords, walking the family beagle, Kafka, and playing tennis with his younger sister, Ynes.