Zoe Gray Carthew is a student of history and English at La Trobe University, currently doing her Honours in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century evolutionary science and literature. In 2004 she shared the David Johansen prize for History. She also edits the La Trobe History Society’s magazine, Passim. Zoe takes a fervent interest in historical fiction, especially of nautical, science and romance genres, and works in a bookshop in the centre of Melbourne. She is a member of the Golden Key International Honour Society.