Lady Mary McGrigor grew up in a 15th-century Scottish castle which inspired her love of history. When she was twenty she married Sir Charles McGrigor who eventually retired to become a hill farmer in Argyll. Inspired by local artefacts she wrote a number of local histories before branching out into articles for Scottish Field. Anna, Countess of the Covenant, her biography of Lady Anna Mackenzie, was published by Birlinn in 2008. She lives near Port Sonachan in Argyll.