About the Author: Biography

Amy Butler Greenfield's grandfather and great-grandfather were dyers, and she has long been fascinated by the history of color. As a Marshall Scholar at Oxford, she studied Renaissance Europe, imperial Spain, and colonial Latin America. Her book A Perfect Red, a history of the quest for the legendary red dye cochineal, has garnered rave reviews from historians, critics, and general readers, including Diane Ackerman, who called it "a superbly researched history of cochineal red, full of angles and tangents, curiosities and arcana." A Perfect Red was a History Book Club Editor’s Pick and a Washington Post Best Book of 2005.

Amy also writes for children under her maiden name. Her first book, a historical novel set in London and Virginia in 1627, was selected as one of the Best Books of the Year by the Bank Street College of Education and was a finalist for the Julia Ward Howe Prize. If you'd like to learn more, please visit www.amybutler.com.

Amy now lives with her husband near Boston, in an old house surrounded by hollies, foxgloves, lavender, irises, and the occasional bright red poppy.

To learn more about what inspired her to write A Perfect Red, click here.

For information about booking Amy as a speaker, please visit the Speaking page.