<link href="../Styles/31564_Shrapnel.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"/> <meta content="urn:uuid:489fe91a-f465-4eb3-af03-6239a29798ca" name="Adept.expected.resource"/> </head> <body> <p class="FMH"><a href="../Text/Contents.xhtml#AUTHOR"><span class="blue">ABOUT THE AUTHOR</span></a></p> <p class="author"><span class="bold">WILLIAM WHARTON</span> was born in Philadelphia in 1925. He volunteered for the United States Army and served in France and Germany during World War II. Later in life Wharton returned to France and lived on a houseboat on the Seine. Wharton’s first novel, <span class="ital">Birdy,</span> won the National Book Award for best first novel and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Before his death in 2008 at the age of eighty-two, Wharton published eight novels and three memoirs in the United States.</p> <p class="visit">Visit <a href="http://www.AuthorTracker.com"><span class="blue">www.AuthorTracker.com</span></a> for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins authors.</p> </body> </html>