J. A. Baker was born and brought up in the North East of England and has had a love of language for as long as she can remember. She has a love of local history and genealogy and enjoys reading many genres of books but is an addict of psychological thrillers.

Robert Macfarlane is the author of the prizewinning Mountains of the Mind and The Wild Places, both of which were New York Times Notable Books. He has contributed to Harper's, Granta, the Observer, Times Literary Supplement, and London Review of Books. He is a fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge.

Sir David Attenborough is Britain's best-known natural history filmmaker. His career as a naturalist and broadcaster has spanned nearly five decades, and there are very few places on the globe that he has not visited. He has established himself as the world's leading natural history program maker with several landmark BBC series, including Life of Mammals and Life in the Undergrowth.