Florence Scovel Shinn (1871-1940) was born in Camden, New Jersey. Shinn spent many years working as an artist and illustrator of children's literature in New York City before writing her New Thought classic, The Game of Life and How to Play It. Unable to find a publisher, she published the book herself in 1925. Shinn went on to write three more books, all of which are included in this volume- Your Word is Your Wand (1928), The Secret Door to Success (1940), and The Power of the Spoken Word (1944), a posthumous work. Shinn also became widely regarded as an important American spiritual teacher and lecturer. She died in New York City in 1940.