Laurel Thatcher Ulrich did her undergraduate work at the University at Utah and then moved with her husband, Gael, to Massachusetts. While raising their five children, she completed a PhD at the University of New Hampshire, where she taught for many years. Since 1995, she has been a professor of history at Harvard University. She is the author of many books and articles on early American history, including A Midwife’s Tale, which won the Pulitzer Price for History in 1991.