Scott Symons' previous books include the novels Place d'Armes: A Combat Journal (1967) and Helmet of Flesh (1986). In 1970 he published Heritage: A Romantic Look at Early Canadian Furniture. He was a professor at the University of Toronto, a curator at the Royal Ontario Museum, and a visiting curator at Winterthur and the Smithsonian. In the early 1970s, he was writerinresidence at Simon Fraser University. He has lived most of his recent life in Morocco, and currently lives in Toronto.