By Nava Atlas | On December 16, 2017 | Updated August 20, 2022 | Comments (0)
Lois Lenski (October 14, 1893 – September 11, 1974), American children’s book author and illustrator, was best known for realistic depictions of childhood in regional settings around the United States.
A Newbery Medal-winner, she secured a respected place in children’s literature for both her writing and art. She published nearly one hundred books in her career (as well as posthumously, starting with Skipping Village and Jack Horner’s Pie: A Book of Nursery Rhymes, both released in 1927.
Born in Springfield, Ohio, she was the daughter of a Lutheran minister, and with family, moved to a small village that was to be her home for the duration of her childhood. Growing up in this setting would eventually have a profound influence on her calling as a writer and illustrator. Read More→
By Nava Atlas | On December 9, 2017 | Updated July 30, 2024 | Comments (0)
Margaret Rumer Godden (December 10, 1907 – November 8, 1998) was a novelist and memoirist born in Eastbourne, Sussex (England) and raised mainly in India at the height of colonial rule.
Her life was as dramatic and colorful as the stories she so skillfully wrote. Rumer Godden and her sisters spent an idyllic childhood in the Bengal region, now actually part of Bangladesh. (photo at right courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
From an early age, she knew she wanted to be a writer. She was sent to Britain to be educated, as was the custom at the time, and traveled back and forth from England to India frequently. Read More→
By Nava Atlas | On November 29, 2017 | Updated August 20, 2022 | Comments (0)
Anita Loos (April 26, 1889 – August 18, 1981) was an American author, playwright, and screenwriter, best known for Gentleman Prefer Blondes. She was born Corinne Anita Loos in what is today Mount Shasta, California.
The story of her actual childhood seemed like a scenario fit for screen treatment. A curious girl, she tagged along with her father, a dissolute alcoholic, whose company included others of his proclivity, prostitutes, and others who resided in San Francisco’s underbelly.
Anita performed on stage from an early age in her father’s stock theatre company, on occasion becoming the sole support of the family. She disliked the work, however, knowing that what she really wanted was to be a writer. Read More→
By Nava Atlas | On October 21, 2017 | Updated January 26, 2025 | Comments (0)
Margery Sharp (January 25, 1905 – March 25, 1991), born Clara Margery Melita Sharp in Salisbury, England, was a prolific British author of witty novels featuring offbeat characters. Several were adapted for stage and screen.
Though she wrote numerous books (many in the comic novel genre), her most enduring work is The Rescuers series for children, two of which were adapted into animated Disney films.
After completing a varied education in arts and languages, Margery started her career by getting her stories published in Punch magazine, at age 21. She continued to write for this and other major magazines in Britain and the U.S. Read More→
By Regina Arbeia | On September 4, 2017 | Updated August 22, 2022 | Comments (0)
Baroness Orczy (September 23, 1865 – November 12, 1947) was born Emma (or “Emmuska”) Magdolna Rozália Mária Jozefa Borbála Orczy de Orci in Tarnaörs, Heves County, Hungary. She’s best known for The Scarlet Pimpernel and its numerous sequels, some of which were adapted to stage and film.
Both of her parents were of aristocratic ancestry. Her father Felix was a Baron and a composer and her mother, also named Emma, was a Countess and daughter of a member of the Hungarian parliament.
When revolution threatened Hungary in 1868, her parents were forced to flee their homeland and lived at various times in Budapest, Paris, and Brussels until 1880 when the family settled in London. There, Emma studied both art and music. Some of her art works were exhibited at the Royal Academy. Read More→
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