Linda Ty-Casper, one of the foremost figures of Philippine historical fiction, was born in 1931 in Malabon, Philippines. Born Belinda Ty during the American occupation of the archipelago, the prolific writer spent her youth in wartime, enchanted by her grandmother’s stories of revolution and rebellion. She studied law at the University of the Philippines, Diliman, and at Harvard University in Cambridge. She married Leonard Casper, an American literary critic, in 1956. For her writing, Ty-Casper received grants and fellowships from the Radcliffe Institute, the Djerassi Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center, as well as accolades such as the S.E.A. Write Award. Including more than sixteen books, Ty-Casper’s oeuvre is praised for being meticulous in detail and research, all the while grappling with Philippine history.
