Kay Thompson was a singer, dancer, vocal arranger and coach to many MGM musicals in the 1940s. The Eloise character grew out of the voice of a precocious six-year-old she used to put on to amuse her friends. Collaborating with Hilary Knight on what was an immediate bestseller, Kay Thompson and Hilary Knight became literary sensations when the book was first published in 1955. More than 2 million copies have been sold to date and there are 3 more to be reissued my S&S! Hilary Knight, son of artist-writers Clayton Knight and Katharine Sturges, was educated at the Art Students League, where he studied with Reginald Marsh. Besides the Eloise books, Hilary Knight has illustrated more than fifty books for children, six of which he wrote himself. He lives and works in New York City, not far from The Plaza Hotel.