Formerly an architect, Scott Smith is now a writer and publisher in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Born in Montreal, Quebec, he received a Bachelor of Science degree from Mount Allison University in 1967 and a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the School of Architecture, Technical University of Nova Scotia, (now Dalhousie) in 1972. He lived and worked in Charlottetown from 1978 to 1981, during which period he conducted research for this, his first book. An active conservationist, he has served on heritage advisory boards for HRM, the Province of Nova Scotia and Heritage Trust of N.S. He has lectured on Prince Edward Island architecture at the 1980 Atlantic Canada Institute conference at the University of Prince Edward Island, conducted a photo survey of historic buildings in Colchester County, Nova Scotia and his photographs have appeared in many architectural publications.

His articles on architectural history have been published by such periodicals as Arts Atlantic (Spring 1985) and Canadian Antiques and Art Review (September 1981), and he has written book reviews for The Island Magazine and The Atlantic Provinces Book Review. Mr. Smith's three books on PEI architecture, including this one, have all won publishing awards from the PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation, in 1987, 1992 and 1998.