Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Belated Happy New Year and the shell of a future list

I'm a couple of weeks late, but Happy New Year to all of you, and I hope you all had lovely holidays.

Our trip to DC was great fun. It's such a marvelous city to visit over the holidays if you don't mind winter chill too much. Because so many of those who live in DC hail from other parts of the country and have come to the city for work in the government, during the holidays the city veritably empties out as everyone heads for home. But all the museums (most of them free) are open, as are restaurants and shops, just less crowded than usual. For example, while Andy was finishing up at the Newseum on Christmas Eve, I went across the street and caught the gorgeous Vermeer exhibition at the National Gallery, and I couldn't believe all the meandering rope lines marked out for the madhouse lines the exhibition usually has. It took me several minutes to saunter through them all, with nary a soul actually waiting. There are worse deals than that.

We were lucky in our wintery weather, too. It was nippy, with temps in the 20s Fahrenheit, but nothing compared to the brutal cold that came a few days after our return to lovely mild San Francisco. And all the inclement weather we had were just a few light snow flurries to punctuate Christmas Day—not quite as much as I would have liked, and there wasn't enough for a truly white Christmas, but on the other hand, nothing turned icy or slushy either…


The reason I had to mention our trip a little is because it was punctuated with two literary excursions. First, we visited the grave of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Fitzgerald, tucked away in an unassuming churchyard in Rockville, Maryland, just a block or two from a Metro station. When I lived in DC for 10 years, I had no idea the graves were there. If there were an American version of Westminster Abbey's Poets' Corner, Fitzgerald might well lie there, but as it is he is very much off the beaten path. Apparently visitors occasionally leave bottles of whiskey on the grave—perhaps in questionable taste for an author who died of alcoholism, and poor Zelda's fate doesn't bear thinking about—but there were only flowers and a small bottle of Tabasco sauce when we were there. (Perhaps someone had swiped the whiskey to keep warm.)

Second, we made a more offbeat excursion to the very edge, indeed a precipice, of Oak Hill Cemetery in Georgetown. Those who have read the marvelous, gorgeous, brilliant Lincoln in the Bardo (note to self: time for a re-read soon) will understand our pilgrimage to the Carroll mausoleum, where Abraham Lincoln's 12-year-old son Willie was laid to rest following his death in 1862 of typhoid fever. (Special thanks to the helpful woman from the cemetery office who saw us wandering aimlessly consulting our cell phones, asked what we were looking for, and immediately produced a flyer the cemetery has now had printed for just such literary geek visitors.) We were preceded by at least a few other visitors to the site of Lincoln's poignant, solitary, late-night trips to his son's resting place, as the presence of a dozen or so Lincoln pennies around the gate proved.




All great fun, and there were other non-literary excursions and much time spent with old friends during the trip as well. But now, back to the purpose of this post.

As some of you will recall, just before I went on my blog vacation, I had started mulling the idea of creating a list of American women writers to complement my British list. And although I've not been blogging for the past few weeks, I have actually been working rather diligently on that project and having a lot of fun with it. It's slowly coming together.

So I thought I might begin sharing the new list with you now and then, as it comes together. I also have a new batch of authors to add to the neverending British list, which I can share with you soon. To start the ball rolling, I thought I'd share the bare bones of what will become my American writers list, which stands at roughly 500 authors or a bit more and is growing all the time. Since many of you dived in when I first posted about the idea back in October to help me brainstorm authors who should be included, it's only right that you should see the results so far. You'll see that I've only got through the B's in fleshing out life and death dates, maiden/married names, etc., and obviously the full narratives on each author are still to come.

Hope you enjoy the preview, and by all means, should you notice other authors still missing from the list, bring on the suggestions!


ABBOTT, JANE [LUDLOW] D[RAKE]. (10 Jul 1881 – 14 Dec 1962)
(née Drake)
1910s – 1950s

AKINS, ZOË (30 Oct 1886 - 29 Oct 1958)
(married name Rumbold)
1910s – 1950s

ALDEN, ISABELLA (3 Nov 1841 - 5 Aug 1930)
(née Macdonald, aka Pansy)
1860s – 1920s

ALDIS, DOROTHY (13 Mar 1896 – 4 Jul 1966)
(née Keeley)
1920s – 1950s

ALDRICH, BESS [GENEVRA] STREETER (17 Feb 1881 – 3 Aug 1954)
(née Streeter)
1920s – 1940s

ALDRICH, MILDRED (16 Nov 1853 – 19 Feb 1928)
1910s

ALEXANDER, IRENE (dates unknown)
1930s – 1940s

ALLEN, GRACE [WESTON] (5 Nov 1905 – 11 Dec 1995)
(married names Hogarth and Sayles, aka Amelia Gay, aka Allen Weston)
1940s – 1970s

ALLIS, MARGUERITE (6 Feb 1886 – 6 Aug 1958)
1930s – 1950s

ANDERSON, HELEN (dates unknown)
(married name Winslow)
1930s

ANGELLOTTI, MARION POLK (12 Nov 1888 – 21 Apr 1953)
1910s – 1920s

ARISS, JEAN F. (9 May 1915 – 15 Jan 2003)
(née ?????)
1950s – 1960s

ARMER, LAURA [MAY] (12 Jan 1874 – 16 Mar 1963)
(née Adams)
1930s

ARMSTRONG, CHARLOTTE (2 May 1905 – 18 Jul 1969)
(married name Lewi)
1940s – 1960s

ARNOW, HARRIETTE [LOUISA] (7 Jul 1908 – 22 Mar 1986)
(née Simpson, aka Harriette Simpson)
1930s – 1970s

ASHMUN, MARGARET [ELIZA] (10 Jul 1875 – 15 Mar 1940)
1910s - 1930s

ATHERTON, GERTRUDE [FRANKLIN] (30 Oct 1857 – 14 Jun 1948)
(née Horn, aka Frank Lin)
1880s – 1940s

ATWATER, MARY MEIGS (28 Feb 1878 – 5 Sept 1956)
(née Horn, aka Frank Lin)
1880s – 1940s

AUSTIN, MARY HUNTER (9 Sept 1868 – 13 Aug 1934)
(née Hunter)
1900s – 1930s

AYDELOTTE, DORA (10 Jan 1878 – Nov 1968)
1930s – 1940s

BAILEY, [IRENE] TEMPLE (20 Feb 1869 – 6 Jul 1953)
(aka Virginia Blair, aka Philip Kean)
1900s – 1940s

BAKER, DOROTHY [ALICE] (21 Apr 1907 – 17 Jun 1968)
(née Dodds)
1930s – 1960s

BALDWIN, FAITH (1 Oct 1893 – 18 Mar 1978)
(married name Cuthrell)
1920s – 1970s

BANNING, MARGARET [FRANCES] CULKIN (18 Mar 1891 – 4 Jan 1982)
(née Culkin, later married name Salsich)
1920s – 1970s

BARD, MARY [TEN EYCK] (21 Nov 1904 – 29 Nov 1970)
(married name Jenson)
1940s – 1960s

BARKER, SHIRLEY [FRANCES] (4 Apr 1911 – 18 Nov 1965)
1940s – 1960s

BARNES, CARMAN [DEE] (20 Nov 1912 – 19 Aug 1980)
(married name Armstrong)
1920s – 1940s

BARNES, DJUNA [CHAPPELL] (12 Jan 1892 – 18 Jun 1982)
(aka Lydia Steptoe, married name Lemon)
1910s – 1930s, 1950s

BARNES, MARGARET AYER (8 Apr 1886 – 25 Oct 1967)
(née Ayer)
1920s – 1930s

BARNEY, NATALIE CLIFFORD (31 Oct 1876 – 2 Feb 1972)
(aka Tryphê)
1930s

BARRY, IRIS [LARA] (11 Dec 1903 – 2 Aug 1983)
(née Phillips)

BARTON, BETSEY A[LICE]. (6 Oct 1917 – 12 Dec 1962)
1940s – 1950s

BASSETT, SARA WARE (22 Oct 1872 – Jul 1968)

BATES, SYLVIA CHATFIELD (23 Feb 1882 – 8 Apr 1968)
1910s – 1950s

BEERS, LORNA DOONE (10 May 1897 – 5 Jun 1989)
(married name Chambers)
1920s – 1930s, 1950s – 1960s

BELL, LILIAN [LIDA] (19 Aug 1865 – 18 Jul 1929)
(married name Bogue)
1890s – 1910s

BELL, PEARL [E.] DOLES (2 Apr 1883 – 11 Mar 1968)
(née Doles)

BELL, SALLIE LEE (30 Jul 1885 – May 1970)
(née Riley)

BENNETT, DOROTHY [EVELYN] (12 Sept 1902 – 9 Mar 1992)
(married name Kewley)

BENNETT, GWENDOLYN B[ENNETTA]. (8 Jul 1902 – 30 May 1981)
(married names Jackson and Crosscup)

BENSON, MILDRED (10 Jul 1905 – 28 May 2002)
(née Augustine, earlier married name Wirt)

BENSON, SALLY (SARA) [MAHALA REDWAY] (3 Sept 1900 – 19 Jul 1972)
(née Smith)
1930s – 1940s

BERCKMAN, EVELYN [DOMENICA] (18 Oct 1900 – 18 Sept 1978)
1950s – 1970s

BEST, [EVANGEL] ALLENA (4 Jan 1892 – Feb 1974)
(née Champlin, earlier married name Berry, aka Erick Berry, aka Anne Maxon)

BIANCO, MARGERY [WINIFRED] (22 Jul 1881 – 4 Sept 1944)
(née Williams)

BIRD, DOROTHY MAYWARD (12 Jul 1899 – 1 Nov 1989)
(née Mayward)

BISHOP, ELIZABETH (8 Feb 1911 – 6 Oct 1979)

BODEN, CLARA [HALL] NICKERSON (14 Oct 1883 – 1 Jan 1959)
(née Nickerson, name changed from Bodenstein)

BONIFACE, MARJORIE (23 Oct 1896 – 23 Dec 1974)
(née Grissett)
1940s

BONNER, GERALDINE (c1863 - 17 Jun 1930
(aka Hard Pan)

BONNER, MARGERIE (17 Feb 1905 – 28 Sept 1988)
(married name Lowry)
1940s

BORDEN, [EMILIE] LUCILLE (30 Mar 1873 – 7 Dec 1962)
(née Papin)

BORDEN, MARY (15 May 1886 – 2 Dec 1968)
(went by "May", married names Turner and Spears, aka Bridget Maclagan)

BOUTELL, ANITA (10 May 1894 – 19 Oct 1972)
(née Day, earlier married names Kearney and Porterfield)
1930s – 1940s

BOWER, B[ERTHA]. M[UZZY]. (15 Nov 1871 – 23 Jul 1940)
(née Muzzy, later married names Sinclair and Cowan)

BOWLES, JANE [SYDNEY] (22 Feb 1917 – 4 May 1973)
(née Auer)

BOYD, [MARGARET] WOODWARD (c1895 – 3 Sept 1965)
(née Smith, later married name Shane, aka Peggy Shane)

BOYLE, KAY (KATHERINE) (19 Feb 1902 – 27 Dec 1992)
(married names Brault, Vail, and von Franckenstein)

BOYLSTON, HELEN DORE (4 Apr 1895 – 30 Sept 1984)

BRAINERD, EDITH RATHBONE (22 Apr 1884 – 28 Jan 1922)
(née Jacobs, aka E. J. Rath, with her husband J. Chauncey Corey Brainerd [1874-1922])

BRAINERD, ELEANOR HOYT (31 Jan 1868 – 18 Mar 1942)
(née Hoyt)

BRANDE, DOROTHEA (12 Jan 1893 – 17 Dec 1948)
(née Thompson)

BRINK, CAROL RYRIE (28 Dec 1895 – 15 Aug 1981)
(née Ryrie)

BRODY, CATHARINE (13 Dec 1900 - ????)
(named changed from Borodovko)

BROOKS, GWENDOLYN [ELIZABETH] (7 Jun 1917 – 3 Dec 2000)
(married name Blakely)

BROWN, ALICE (5 Dec 1856 – 21 Jun 1948)

BROWN, KAREN (dates unknown)
1920s - 1930

BROWN, ROSE (6 Jan c1880 – 8 Apr 1952)
(née Johnston, aka Mrs. Rose Brown)
1940s – 1950s

BROWN, ZENITH JONES (8 Dec 1898 – 1 Sept 1983)
(née Jones, aka Brenda Conrad, aka Leslie Ford, aka David Frome)

BRUSH, KATHARINE (KAY) [LOUISE] (15 Aug 1900 – 10 Jun 1952)
(née Ingham, later married name Winans)

BRYNER, EDNA [CLARE] (1 Sept 1886 – 28 Jan 1967)
(married name Schwab)

BUCK, PEARL [COMFORT] S[YDENSTRICKER]. (26 Jun 1892 – 6 Mar 1972)
(née Sydenstricker, later married name Walsh, aka John Sedges)

BUFF, MARY [ELEANOR] (10 Apr 1890 – 30 Nov 1970)
(née Marsh)

BURR, ANNA ROBESON (26 May 1873 – 10 Sept 1941)
(née Brown)

BURT, KATHARINE (6 Sept 1882 – Jun 1977)
(née Newlin)

BYRD, ELIZABETH (8 Dec 1912 – 11 May 1989)
(married name Phares)

BYRNE, MARIE (4 Oct 1886 – 18 Jan 1961)
(pseudonym of Mary Freeman Byrne)


CALISHER, HORTENSE

CALL, HUGHIE FLORENCE

CAMERON, ALICE

CAMERON, MARGARET

CAMPBELL, ALICE

CAMPBELL, HARRIETTE R[USSELL].

CAMPBELL, LILY BESS

CANNON, CORNELIA

CARLETON, JETTA

CARLETON, MARJORIE CHALMERS

CARLSON, NATALIE
(née Savage)

CARNEAL, GEORGETTE

CARPENTER, FRANCES

CARROLL, GLADYS HASTY

CAREY, ERNESTINE GILBRETH

CASPARY, VERA

CATHER, WILLA

CHAMBERS, JANE (1895-1971)
(pseudonym of Olivia F. Young, née Lukens)

CHANSLOR, TORREY (1899-1964)
(pseudonym of Marjorie Torrey)

CHASE, MARY ELLEN

CHASE, VIRGINIA

CHIDESTER, ANN

CHILD, NELLISE

CHILDRESS, ALICE

CHILTON, ELEANOR

CHUTE, MARCHETTE

CLARK, ELEANOR

COATES, GRACE STONE

COATSWORTH, ELIZABETH

COLE, HAZEL

COLEMAN, EMILY HOLMES

COLLINS, MARY

COLVER, ALICE ROSS

COMSTOCK, HARRIET

COMSTOCK, SARAH

CONVERSE, FLORENCE

COOK, FANNIE

CORBETT, ELIZABETH

COUNSELMAN, MARY ELIZABETH

COWLES, VIRGINIA

CRANE, FRANCES

CROCKETT, LUCY HERNDON

CROSBY, CARESSE

CURRY, PEGGY SIMSON

CURTISS, URSULA

CUSHMAN, CLARISSA FAIRCHILD

DALGLIESH, ALICE

DALY, ELIZABETH

DANIELS, DOROTHY

DARGAN, OLIVE TILFORD

DAVENPORT, MARCIA

DAVIDSON, LILLIAS

DAVIS, DOROTHY SALISBURY

DAVIS, LAVINIA

DAVIS, MILDRED

DEFORD, MIRIAM ALLEN

DE FRIEZ, GRACE

DE LIMA, SIGRID

DEAN, ELIZABETH

DELAND, MARGARET

DENNISTON, ELINORE
(aka Dennis Allan, aka Rae Foley, aka Helen Maxwell)

DEVITT, TIAH

DIAMANT, GERTRUDE

DICKERSON, MARY AUGUSTA

DISNEY, DORIS MILES

DIX, BEAULAH MARIE

DOLAN, RUTH (c1915-????)
(née ?????, aka Rory Gallagher)

DOOLITTLE, HILDA

DORMIE, M. A. (1893-1956)
(pseudonym of Marian Edna Dormitzer, married name Sharrock)

DORRANCE, ETHEL SMITH

DRYDEN, BRIDGET (dates unknown)
(pseudonym of ???)

DU JARDIN, ROSAMOND

DUFFIELD, ANNE (1913-1976)
(pseudonym of Dorothy Dean Duffield, née Tate, earlier married name Duer)

DUNDY, ELAINE

DURIE, ALICE

EBERHART, MIGNON G.

EIKER, MATHILDE

ENRIGHT, ELIZABETH

EUSTIS, HELEN

FAIRBANK, JANET AYER

FAUSET, JESSIE REDMON

FENELLOSA, MARY

FERBER, EDNA

FIELD, RACHEL

FISCHER, MARJORIE

FISHER, DOROTHY CANFIELD

FISHER, M[ARY]. F[RANCES]. K[ENNEDY].

FITLER, MARY BIDDLE

FITZGERALD, ZELDA

FLETCHER, INGLIS

FOLSOM, ELIZABETH IRONS

FOOTE, MARY HALLOCK

FORBES, ESTHER

FORD, LESLIE

FOSTER, ELIZABETH

FOSTER, ETHEL TWYCROSS

FRANKEN, ROSE

FRASIER, SCOTTIE

FREEMAN, MARY ELEANOR WILKINS

GADDIS, EROLIE PEARL
(aka Roberta COURTLAND; Georgia CRAIG; Peggy DERN; Peggy GADDIS; Gail JORDAN; Carolina LEE; Perry LINDSAY; Joan SHERMAN)

GALE, ZONA

GARIS, LILIAN

GELLHORN, MARTHA

GIBBS, JEANNETTE PHILLIPS

GILES, JANICE HOLT

GILLMORE, INEZ HAYNES

GILMAN, CHARLOTTE PERKINS

GIZYCKA, ELEANOR [JOSEPHINE MEDILL]

GLASGOW, ELLEN

GLASPELL, SUSAN

GLENN, ISA

GOLDSMITH, MARGARET

GORDON, CAROLINE

GRANT, MARY GEARY

GRANVILLE-BARKER, HELEN

GRAU, SHIRLEY ANN

GREEN, ANNA KATHERINE

GREEN, ANNE

GREEN, ELEANOR

GREGORY, ALYSE

GREY, SERENE

HAHN, EMILY

HAINES, ALICE CALHOUN

HALE, NANCY

HALL, AMANDA B.

HALL, ANNA GERTRUDE

HALLOWELL, ELEANOR

HANCOCK, LUCY AGNES

HANSHEW, HAZEL

HANSHEW, MARY ELIZA

HARDWICK, ELIZABETH

HARNAN, [EDNA] TERRY

HARRIS, CORRA

HARSHAW, RUTH HETZEL

HART, FRANCES NOYES

HAVILAND-TAYLOR, KATHARINE

HAWTHORNE, HILDEGARDE

HAYWOOD, CAROLYN

HEATH, E[LLA]. CROSBY

HENRY, HARRIET

HERBST, JOSEPHINE

HEWES, AGNES DANFORTH

HIGHSMITH, PATRICIA

HILL, GRACE LIVINGSTON

HILL, PATRICIA

HOBART, ALICE

HOLDING, ELISABETH SANXAY

HOLLEY, HELEN

HOWE, HELEN HUNTINGTON

HOYT, NANCY

HUBBARD, MARGARET ANN

HUESTON, ETHEL

HUGHES, DOROTHY B.

HULL, HELEN R.

HULME, KATHRYN

HUNTINGTON, GLADYS

HURST, FANNIE

HURSTON, ZORA NEALE

HUTCHINS, MAUDE

IRWIN, INEZ HAINES

JACKSON, SHIRLEY

JAFFE, RONA

JANEWAY, ELIZABETH

JAYNES, CLARE

JEWETT, ELEANOR

JOHNSON, E. PAULINE

JOHNSON, ENID

JOHNSON, JOSEPHINE

JOHNSTON, MARY

JORDAN, ELIZABETH

JUDD, FRANCES K.
(pseudonym of Elizabeth Mildred Duffield Ward, Mildred Wirt Benson, Edna Stratemeyer Squier, and Anna Perot Rose Wright, at different times)

JUDSON, CLARA INGRAM

JUDSON, JEANNE
(aka Frances Dean Hancock, aka Emily Thorne)

KAUFFMAN, CHRISTMAS CAROL

KEITH, AGNES NEWTON

KELLEY, EDITH SUMMERS

KELLY, ELEANOR MERCEIN

KENT, LOUISE ANDREWS

KENYON, THEDA

KERR, JEAN

KERR, SOPHIE

KEYES, FRANCES PARKINSON

KIMBROUGH, EMILY

KING, GRACE

KUTNER, NANETTE

LANE, MRS. JOHN (1854-1927)
(pseudonym of Annie Philippine Eichberg Lane, first married name King)

LANGLEY, ADRIA LOCKE

LARRMORE, LIDA

LARSEN, NELLA

LASSWELL, MARY

LATIMER, MARGERY

LAWRENCE, HILDA

LEE, GYPSY ROSE

LEE, HARPER

LEECH, MARGARET

LEWIS, JANET

LINCOLN, VICTORIA

LININGTON, ELIZABETH

LITTLE, CONSTANCE & GWYNETH

LOCKRIDGE, FRANCES

LOMBARDI, CYNTHIA

LONG, AMELIA REYNOLDS

LONG, LAURA

LOOS, ANITA

LORING, EMILIE BAKER

LOVELACE, MAUD HART

LUDLUM, JEAN KATE

LUMPKIN, GRACE

LYTTLETON, KAY (dates unknown)
(pseudonym of Jean Lyttleton McKechnie)

MACDONALD, BETTY

MACGREGOR, ELLEN

MAINWARING, MARION

MALLETTE, GERTRUDE

MALLY, E. LOUISE

MALVERN, GLADYS

MARKS, JEANETTE

MARSHALL, LENORE G.

MARSHALL, PAULE

MARSHALL, ROSAMOND

MASON, GRACE SARTWELL

MAVITY, NANCY BARR

MAYHALL, JANE

MCCARTER, MARGARET

MCCARTHY, MARY

MCCLOY, HELEN

MCCLURE, MARJORIE BARKLEY

MCCULLERS, CARSON

MCGERR, PATRICIA

MCKENNEY, RUTH

MCLELLAND, ISABEL COUPER

MCMULLEN, MARY

MEIGS, CORNELIA

MERWIN, DECIE

MILLAY, KATHLEEN

MILLER, AGNES

MILLER, ELIZABETH YORK

MILLER, FRANCESCA FALK

MILLER, HELEN TOPPING

MILLER, ISABEL

MILN, LOUISE JORDAN

MITCHELL, FAY

MITCHELL, ISLA

MITCHELL, MARGARET

MOLLOY, ANNE BAKER

MONROE, ANNE SHANNON

MOREHOUSE, KATHLEEN

MOWAT, GRACE

MURFREE, MARY NOAILLES

MURRAY, PAULI

NEILSON, ISABEL

NEUMANN, DAISY

NEWBERRY, CLARE

NORRIS, KATHLEEN

NORTON, ALICE MARY

O'CONNOR, FLANNERY

O'DONNELL, MARY KING

O'DONNELL, LILLIAN

OGDEN, HARRIET

OGILVIE, ELIZABETH

OLSEN, DOLORES BIRK

OLSEN, TILLIE

O'MORE, PEGGY

OSTRANDER, ISABEL

PAGE, MYRA

PALEY, GRACE

PARADIS, MARJORIE BARTHOLOMEW

PARKER, CORNELIA STRATTON

PARKER, DOROTHY

PARMENTER, CHRISTINE WHITING

PARRISH, ANNE

PARROTT, URSULA

PATTON, FRANCIS GRAY

PAYES, RACHEL COSGROVE

PAYNE, ELIZABETH STANCY

PEATTIE, LOUISE

PECKHAM, BETTY

PENNELL, ELIZABETH

PETRY, ANN

PHELPS, ELIZABETH STUART

PIPER, EVELYN

PIPER, MARGARET REBECCA

PLATH, SYLVIA

PORCHER, MARY F. WICKHAM

PORTER, ELEANOR

PORTER, KATHERINE ANNE

POST, EMILY

POTTER, MIRIAM

POU, GENEVIEVE

POWELL, DAWN

PROUTY, OLIVE HIGGINS

PULLMAN, GLADYS

RADFORD, RUBY LORRAINE

RAND, AYN

RATH, VIRGINIA

RAWLINGS, MARJORIE KINNAN

RAY, ANNA CHAPIN

REED, MYRTLE

REICHARD, GLADYS A[MANDA].

REILLY, HELEN

RICE, ALICE HEGAN

RICE, CRAIG

RICHMOND, GRACE S.

RICKETTS, BERTHA

RIDDLE, BETTINA

RIDING, LAURA

RINEHART, MARY ROBERTS

RIVES, AMÉLIE

RIVES, HALLIE ERMINIE

ROBINS, ELIZABETH

ROTH, HOLLY

ROTHERY, AGNES EDWARDS

RUKEYSER, MURIEL

RUSSELL, CHARLOTTE MURRAY

RUTLEDGE, NANCY

SAMPSON, EMMA SPEED

SANDOZ, MARI

SARTON, MAY

SAWYER, RUTH

SCARBOROUGH, DOROTHY

SCHERF, MARGARET

SCOTT, EVELYN

SEAMAN, AUGUSTA

SEDGWICK, ANNE DOUGLAS

SEELEY, MABEL

SEIFERT, ELIZABETH

SERGEANT, ELIZABETH

SETON, ANYA

SETTLE, MARY LEE

SHERIDAN, JUANITA

SHOLL, ANNA MCCLURE

SHOR, JEAN BOWIE

SILLIMAN, VERA

SIMONS, KATHERINE DRAYTON

SKINNER, CORNELIA OTIS

SLAUGHTER, GERTRUDE ELIZABETH

SLESINGER, TESS

SMITH, BETTY

SMITH, HARRIET LUMMIS

SMITH, LILLIAN

SMITH, MARGARET CHASE

SPEARE, DOROTHY

SPEARE, ELIZABETH GEORGE

SPECKING, INEZ

SPOFFORD, HARRIET PRESCOTT

SPYKMAN, E[LIZABETH]. C[HOATE].

STAFFORD, JEAN

STEIN, GERTRUDE

STEPHEN, RUTH

STEVENS, FRANCIS

STONE, GRACE ZARING

STRABEL, THELMA

STRANGE, JOHN STEPHEN (1896-1983)
(pseudonym of Dorothy Stockbridge Tillett)

STRATTON-PORTER, GENE

SUCKOW, RUTH

SUTTON, MARGARET

SWAIN, VIRGINIA

TAYLOR, PHOEBE ATWOOD

TAYLOR, ROSEMARY

THANE, ELSWYTH

THAYER, LEE (1874-1973)
(pseudonym of Emma Redington Lee Thayer)

THOMAS, CLARA CHAPLINE

TOMPKINS, JULIET WILBOR

TORREY, WARE

TREADWELL, SOPHIE

TRUAX, RHODA

TUTTLE, MARGARETTA

UPRIGHT, BLANCHE

VINING, ELIZABETH GRAY

VORSE, MARY HEATON

WALDEN, AMELIA

WALKER, MILDRED

WALKER, AUGUSTA

WALLER, MARY E[LLEN].

WALTON, EVANGELINE

WALZ, AUDREY

WARREN, LELLA

WATKINS, SHIRLEY

WATSON, SALLY

WATTS, MARY S.

WEBER, LENORA MATTINGLY

WEIMAN, RITA

WEINSTOCK, HELEN
(aka Helen Wells, aka Francine Lewis)

WELLS, CAROLYN

WELTY, EUDORA

WEST, DOROTHY

WEST, JESSAMYN

WEST, MAE

WESTCOTT, JAN

WHARTON, EDITH

WHITE, ELIZA ORNE

WHITE, GRACE MILLER

WHITNEY, GERTRUDE CAPEN

WHITNEY, PHYLLIS A.

WIDDEMER, MARGARET

WILDER, LAURA INGALLS

WILLIAMS, REBECCA YANCEY

WILLIAMSON, ALICE MURIEL (c1867-1933)
(née Livingston, aka M. P. Revere, aka Dona Teresa de Savallo, aka Alice Stuyvesant, aka Mrs. C. N. Williamson, aka Mrs. Harcourt Williamson)

WILSON, MARGARET

WINSLOW, ANNE GOODWIN

WINSLOW, HELEN MARIA

WINSLOW, THYRA SAMTER

WOLFF, MARITTA

WONG, JADE SNOW

WOOLSEY, GAMEL

WORKMAN, GLADYS

WRIGHT, ANNA ROSE

WRIGHT, CONSTANCE CHOATE

WYATT, EDITH

WYLIE, ELINOR

YATES, ELIZABETH

YAUKEY, GRACE

YENNI, JULIA TRUITT

YEZIERSKA, ANZIA

YOUNG, MARGUERITE

23 comments:

  1. I had read or have copies of books by 37 of these authors. Looking forward to hearing more about them...

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    1. Not a bad number at all, Veronica, and I love that your first instinct was (as mine would have been) to add them up!

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  2. I love Harriette Arnow and Bess Streeter Aldrich and am thrilled to see them on the list!

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    1. Thanks, Kat! I've always meant to read both of those authors, but never have, so I am noting your recommendation.

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  3. What a challenging new project - US Furrowed Middlebrow. I am familiar with a few of these authors, especially Laura Ingalls Wilder, whose works made a big impact on me.

    Jerri

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    1. Thanks, Jerri. Yes, Wilder of course, and I've just realized that somehow although her name had already come up in my research, I managed to leave Wilder's daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, off of this list. I was fascinated to learn that, quite apart from her apparent collaboration with her mother on the Little House books, Lane wrote several novels of her own in the 1920s and 1930s, so clearly belongs on the list.

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  4. A new list! Happy to see Mildred Walker included, I really loved Winter Wheat. And I am glad you were able to see the Vermeer exhibit. I saw it in Paris and it was insanely crowded which took some of the enjoyment away. (Wow, that sounded really snobby. First world problems, right?)

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    1. Thanks, Karen! Winter Wheat is one of several new TBR books that have come out of this list. I seem to be a masochist when it comes to torturing myself with an impossibly long TBR!

      Weren't the Vermeers gorgeous? And one of the other paintings really caught my eye as well, though I have forgotten the name, of course. Snobby or not, I was thrilled to have been able to gaze at the paintings with almost no one else around.

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  5. Exciting list! And you're back, hooray! What a lovely story about your trip. Although I haven't read Lincoln in the Bardo, I have transcribed two interviews with the author, so it was interesting for me to see the location, too. Happy list-making for 2018!

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    1. Thank you, Liz! Oh, do read Lincoln in the Bardo! It's quite unconventional, but so so wonderful. I read a library copy, but just last week ordered a copy of my own to re-read and keep for my shelves.

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  6. Welcome back, Scott. And, seriously? You're going ahead with this? Oh what a project.

    Every now and then I think, hmmm, maybe I could do that with Canadian authors. But then I think again. :^0

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    1. Clearly I am a glutton for punishment, Susan, but we already knew that! Believe me, I have thought of Canada and been tempted. Perhaps in the future. Or if you decide to take the plunge, let me know and I can give you a fair number of names from my database... :-)

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  7. Ambitious! But you thrive on that... You have several of my favorites: Lovelace, Thane, Vining, Malvern, Walden but I would suggest considering the following, unless their dates don’t work for you:

    Alcott, Louisa May

    Allee, Marjorie Hill (One of many authors I was introduced to by my mother. She was a Quaker, married to a zoologist, and among other things is noteworthy because her heroines were often interested in science.)
    born June 2, 1890
    died April 30, 1945

    Cavanna, Betty (Elizabeth) http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/15/arts/betty-cavanna-92-author-for-teenagers.html
    Born June 24, 1909, Camden, NJ
    Died August 13, 2001, Vézelay, France
    And did you see this article earlier this month? https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/05/books/review/malt-shop-teen-romances.html I don’t know why she didn’t mention Janet Lambert!

    Child, Lydia Marie (Born Lydia Maria Francis. In addition to writing Over the River and Through the Woods, she is the author of Hobomok, one of the first historical novels written by a woman in America)
    Born February 11, 1802
    Died October 20, 1880

    Coolidge, Susan (Sarah Chauncey Woolsey) (author of What Katy Did, and following books. Oddly, more popular in the UK than in the US)
    born on January 29, 1835 Ohio
    died April 9, 1905 Rhode Island

    Lambert, Janet (Like Gladys Malvern, an actress who turned to writing; as the wife of a military officer, she set many of her books in that world, which I found fascinating as a child. When I read The Dancing Bear (at your suggestion) I was reminded of Little Miss Atlas, in which teen Tippy Parrish goes to live in post WWII Germany when her father is stationed there.)

    L’Engle, Madeleine (Camp) (Happy I got to meet her once in NYC – that was a very long line!)
    Born November 29, 1918
    Died September 6, 2007

    LeGuin, Ursula (Kroeber)
    Born: October 21, 1929, Berkeley, CA

    Leighton, Margaret Carver (author of the fabulous Judith of France and others, fiction and nonfiction)
    Born: December 20, 1896, Oberlin, OH
    Died: June 19, 1987, Santa Monica, CA

    [LeGuin, Leighton, and Irwin are all Radcliffe alumnae]

    Richards, Laura E. (Bestselling and prolific author in her day of Captain January, the Hildegarde books, and I used to live around the corner from where she grew up. She was the daughter of Julia Ward Howe and Samuel Gridley, and was named after the famous Laura Bridgman. I have a nice collection of her work.)
    Born February 27, 1850
    Died January 14, 1943

    Webster, Jean (Author of Daddy Long Legs and Dear Enemy; neice of Twain; died too young.)
    Born July 24, 1876
    Died June 11, 1916

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    1. Thank you, Constance, this is amazing! A few might not fit my dates, but many of them do and I'm delighted to have the info about them. Although she doesn't fit the list, I have always sort of halfway meant to read Hobomok, and now you've piqued my interest in it again.

      I'm ashamed to say I had never heard of malt shop authors or malt shop romances (which Julia also mentions below), but I am looking forward to exploring them.

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  8. Comments Re Authors You Listed

    Irwin, Inez (should be Haynes, not Haines; my mother was a big Maida fan so I collected them all, plus at least one of her adult novels)

    Keyes, Frances Parkinson (Her books are extremely dated but I am a fan, especially of Came a Cavalier and Crescent Carnival; I regularly send people to visit her home in New Orleans, now a museum. I suspect I would not have liked her in real life, however, as she was a big adversary of Eleanor Roosevelt.)
    http://www.nytimes.com/1970/07/04/archives/frances-parkinson-keyes-dies-writer-and-washington-hostess-senators.html

    Judson, Clara Ingram (author of the Mary Jane books, the first chapter books I read. I have them all in a box in the attic, hand-me-downs from my grandmother and my mother that were surprisingly memorable; too fragile to lend, you will need to stop by)

    Malvern, Gladys (author of YA historical fiction, a few bios, and some contemporary fiction; I am a big fan and am delighted a number are back in print, especially Behold Your Queen, arguably her best book)

    Neumann, Daisy (she sometimes spells it Newman (just went to check my shelves). She was my mother’s housemother at Radcliffe in the 50s. Preachy but enjoyable.)

    Parrish, Anne ( I have my mother’s copy of Floating Island, which is a charming story about shipwrecked dolls but would now be considered controversial for its depiction of a black cook doll)

    Seaman, Augusta ( She usually used her middle or maiden name Huiell. She is one of very few children’s authors my grandmother admitted to enjoying. She liked to say she went from the Oz books to Flannery O’Connor. I tried to like them for her sake but I recall those I read as being very pedestrian. The one I remember best is The Vanishing Octant Mystery and that is only because the Octant everyone sought kept washing up on the beach, then tantalizingly disappearing.)
    Born April 3, 1879
    Died June 5, 1950

    Sorry so long!

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    1. Thanks again, Constance! This is wonderful information. How interesting about Daisy Neumann/Newman--I've always meant to read Now That April's There as well. Can't wait to explore these authors in more depth!

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  9. Comment from Julia, which Blogger was too cranky to allow her to post:


    Happy New Year! Best wishes to you and Andy, and glad you had a nice break! When I read your latest post, I thought how funny it was you just couldn't NOT do the American list. You may do all the other English speaking countries yet! I'm assuming the rules for the new American list are the same as the Original British List. That is, 1910-1960's, and longer children's books or young adult, but not picture books. Even people such as Beverly Cleary would count under those rules, so it's going to be quite the list as well. You'll have quite a few maltshop authors like Janet Lambert, Betty Cavanna, and Rosamond Du Jardin. https://www.lib.umn.edu/clrc/hess-collection/girls_series is a good resource for that kind of thing. Two authors that would count are on my own TBR list, Greenwillow by BJ Chute and Moonset by Margaret Ellsworth Gruen. I have very little information on the Gruen book, but somehow read that it was about an eccentric theatrical family on the internet, where, I don't even remember, but currently have it ILL. There are so many middlebrow gems, time for me to dive in and discover more again!


    And a follow-up from Julia re the Gruen book mentioned above:


    https://books.google.com/books?id=ekSsAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA58&lpg=PA58&dq=gruen+moonset&source=bl&ots=lQ4uBpTTLy&sig=DGRNdURCvZqSfYazboGs84u-29I&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiYnZCVu-fYAhVHvVMKHbbhCSUQ6AEIVzAP#v=onepage&q=gruen%20moonset&f=false

    Must have been here for the Gruen, but I keep thinking I also read a Kirkus review. Kirkus seems to have pretty accurate reviews, and an archive of older material that covers lots of old middlebrow

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    1. This is wonderful Julia! For some reason, I had no idea that Beverly Cleary would have started early enough to include here, but I don't know why, as there were many of her books in my elementary school in the early 1970s, so clearly she had been writing for a while. And I also just looked up BJ Chute to see the connection to Marchette Chute who IS included on the list--sisters! Who knew? (Well, you, probably, but not me.) Excited to check out the other authors you mention too. Thanks for your help, and keep the suggestions coming!

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  10. I just discovered this site and after reading this particular post I feel like I've stumbled upon a group of kindred spirits. I've been an avid old-book-reader for many years and the books in my bookcases are almost all by women writers and were published between the late 19th c. and the mid-1960s. I was thrilled to see Jessamyn West, Gladys Hasty Carroll, Shirley Watkins, Betty Cavanna, and Lavinia R. Davis listed here.

    I feel like a kid in a candy store and am looking forward to researching the authors listed who I've never heard of! Thank you!

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    1. Thank you, Tanya, and welcome! Do let me know if you think of others I've missed so far.

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  11. Scott, it occurs to me you should also consider Marian Cockrell (1909-99), screenwriter and author of the cult children's book Shadow Castle, as well as several adult novels, of which my favorite is The Revolt of Sarah Perkins. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0168359/

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    1. I am definitely intrigued, Constance. Thank you for letting me know about her!

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  12. Your blog is amazing! What fun! I will be back, definitely. —Nina

    May I suggest some American women for inclusion:

    Harriette Ashbrook - see http://gadetection.pbworks.com/w/page/7929950/Ashbrook%2C%20Harriette

    Gwen Bristow - Plantation Trilogy, Jubilee Trail, etc., plus a couple mysteries with husband Bruce Manning. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/5907/

    Ruth Alberta Brown - At the Little Brown House (1913)

    Margaret Carpenter- Experiment Perilous https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Seymour_Carpenter

    Maureen Daly—Seventeenth Summer (1948). Wife of crime writer William P. McGivern.
    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maureen_Daly

    Marietta Holley—published two Samantha books after 1910. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marietta_Holley

    Elizabeth Hughes Holloway published Cobweb House in 1931. http://hermes.lib.olemiss.edu/mystery/exhibit.asp?display=9

    Veronica Parker Johns, Murder by the Day (1953)
    http://gadetection.pbworks.com/w/page/7930861/Johns%2C%20Veronica%20Parker

    Lange Lewis, The Birthday Murder (1945), Meat for Murder (1943)
    http://gadetection.pbworks.com/w/page/7930948/Lewis%2C%20Lange

    Elisabeth Sutton, Dead Fingers (1918) - maybe American?

    Jean Webster, Daddy-Long-Legs (1915)
    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Webster

    Anna Mary Wells, Murderer’s Choice (1943)
    http://gadetection.pbworks.com/w/page/7932442/Wells%2C%20Anna%20Mary


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