Benedict Freedman was an American novelist and mathematician, the co-author of Mrs. Mike and a professor of mathematics at Occidental College in Los Angeles. Born in New York City in 1919, Freedman came from a lineage of writers, being both the son and grandson of authors. While still in high school, he took accelerated courses for gifted boys and graduated with a medal for mathematics. At the young age of fourteen, he entered Columbia University as a premed student but had to leave at sixteen due to the sudden death of his father.

Following this, Freedman continued his studies in higher mathematics through private study. His main interests lay in games and recreational mathematics, though he also contributed to writing a textbook and worked on actuarial problems as a clerk to a consulting actuary.