Joanne S. Williamson was born on May 13th, 1926, in Arlington, Massachusetts. Though she had interests in both writing and music, and attended Barnard College and Diller Quaile School of Music, it was writing that became the primary focus for her career after college. She was a feature writer for Connecticut newspapers until 1965, when she moved to Kennebunkport, Maine, and began to write historical fiction for young people.

In each of Miss Williamson's eight novels, she explores unusual historical slants of well-known events.

After a decline in American interest in historical fiction, she decided to return to her second calling and take up music again until her retirement in 1990. Now, interest has been rekindled in her books and in those of other writers of historical fiction.