Catherine Grace Katz is a historian and author from Chicago, in the United States. Katz studied history at Harvard and earned her MA degree in history from Cambridge University. After working in finance, Katz returned to school, completing her JD at Harvard Law School. Daughters of Yalta is Katz’s first work, and she credits her interest in the subject to the Winston Churchill-focused bookstore Chartwell Booksellers in Manhattan. In the Acknowledgements section of her work, Katz explains that the owner of Chartwell Booksellers introduced her to the executive director of the International Churchill Society, Lee Pollack, and the editor of the organization’s journal Finest Hour, who made suggestions about source material, such as the Churchill family’s letters.

Katz draws upon a variety of primary and secondary sources to craft her narrative approach. She includes journal entries, letters, and newspaper reports and propaganda to bolster her interpretation of the events at Yalta and its historical context. Katz also interviewed friends and family of some of the people featured in her work to better understand their personal lives and create accurate characterizations. For instance, she interviewed Anna Roosevelt’s children Ellie Seagreaves and John R.