Philippa Pearce was the youngest of four children of a flour miller and corn merchant. The family lived in the flour mill, which stood on the upper reaches of the River Cam, in Great Shelford, south of Cambridge. She went to school in Cambridge, and studied English and History at Cambridge University. After college she worked in the BBC, as a scriptwriter and producer, and then in publishing as an editor. Her earliest ambition was to be a writer, and she has written many books, winning the Carnegie Medal for Tom's Midnight Garden. She has also been awarded an OBE for services to Children's Literature. She died in 2006.