Michael Ladner was born in Princeton, NJ, and is said to have been patted on the head by Albert Einstein as a baby. Thus encouraged he went on to take a BA from Harvard, an MA from New York University, and a PhD in Philosophy from Claremont Graduate University, since when he has completed further studies at the San Francisco Art Institute and School of Visual Arts. He has taught American and European History, Art History, Psychology and English, and lived mostly in Brooklyn and Manhattan. In 2006, he and his wife moved to California. Mrs Woodbine's Prejudices is his third novel.