Ruth Thomas was born in Wellington, Somerset, England on January 4, 1927. She received degrees in English and education from Bristol University. She worked as a teacher until she accepted early retirement and started writing. Her first book, The Runaways, was published in 1987 and won the 1988 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. Her other works include The New Boy, The Secret, Guilty, and Hideaway. She died on August 25, 2011 at the age of 84.