Elizabeth Thornton was born Mary Forrest in Aberdeen, Scotland on January 24, 1940. She was an elementary school teacher before establishing the St. Swithin Street Nursery School in 1967. In 1969, she and her family moved to Winnipeg, Canada, where she continued her teaching career. In 1977, she was appointed as a Pastoral Assistant of a Presbyterian Church. In 1985, she received an honors degree in Classical Greek from the University of Winnipeg. Her first book, Bluestocking Bride, was published in 1987. She wrote over 30 romance novels during her lifetime including Scarlet Angel, Strangers at Dawn, Princess Charming, The Perfect Princess, Shady Lady, The Marriage Trap, and The Bachelor… Trap. She received numerous awards including the Romantic Times Trophy Award for the best New Historical Regency Author and Best Historical Regency. She died on July 12, 2010.