Elizabeth George Speare: Difference between revisions

Page protected with pending changes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
[accepted revision][accepted revision]
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
AnomieBOT (talk | contribs)
Bots
6,297,321 edits
m Dating maintenance tags: {{Moresources}}
m Removing from Category:American women novelists has subcat using Cat-a-lot
(30 intermediate revisions by 17 users not shown)
Line 25: Line 25:
* Mary Elizabeth Carey<ref name=sullivan/> }}
* Mary Elizabeth Carey<ref name=sullivan/> }}
}}
}}
'''Elizabeth George Speare''' (November 21, 1908 – November 15, 1994) was an [[American people|American]] writer of children's books, best known for [[historical novels]] including two Newbery Medal winners. She has been called one of America's 100 most popular writers for children and some of her work has become mandatory reading in many schools throughout the nation.<ref name=sullivan/><ref>{{cite web |first=Sharron L |last=McElmeel |title=100 Most Popular Children's Authors |url=http://www.mcelmeel.com/writing/page_chi.html |publisher=Libraries Unlimited |location=Westport, CT |date=April 2004 |access-date=2008-06-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080607111131/http://www.mcelmeel.com/writing/page_chi.html |archive-date=2008-06-07 }}</ref> Since her books have sold so well she is cited as one of the Educational Paperback Association's top 100 authors.<ref name="EPA">{{cite web |title=EPA's Top 100 Authors |url=http://www.edupaperback.org/showauth.cfm?authid=85 |publisher=Educational Paperback Association |location=Detroit, Michigan |access-date=2008-06-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080508234627/http://www.edupaperback.org/showauth.cfm?authid=85 |archive-date=2008-05-08 }}</ref>
'''Elizabeth George Speare''' (November 21, 1908 – November 15, 1994) was an [[American people|American]] writer of children's historical fiction, including two [[Newbery Medal]] winners, recognizing the year's "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children".<ref name=newbery/> In 1989 she received the [[Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal]] for her contributions to American children's literature<ref name=wilder/> and one of the Educational Paperback Association's top 100 authors.<ref name="EPA">{{cite web |title=EPA's Top 100 Authors |url=http://www.edupaperback.org/showauth.cfm?authid=85 |publisher=Educational Paperback Association |location=Detroit, Michigan |access-date=2008-06-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080508234627/http://www.edupaperback.org/showauth.cfm?authid=85 |archive-date=2008-05-08 }}</ref>

Speare is one of [[Newbery Medal#Multiple award winners|six writers with two Newbery Medals]] recognizing the year's "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children".<ref name=newbery/>
In 1989 she received the [[Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal]] for her contributions to American children's literature.<ref name=wilder/>


==Life==
==Life==
Line 36: Line 33:
She had an extended family with one brother and many aunts, uncles, and cousins, and most importantly, very loving and supportive parents. Speare lived much of her life in [[New England]], the setting for many of her books.
She had an extended family with one brother and many aunts, uncles, and cousins, and most importantly, very loving and supportive parents. Speare lived much of her life in [[New England]], the setting for many of her books.


Speare discovered her gift for writing at the age of eight and began composing stories while still in high school. After completing her [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree at [[Smith College]] in 1930, she earned her [[Master's degree]] in English from [[Boston University]] and taught English at several private Massachusetts high schools from 1932 to 1936.
Speare began composing stories while still in high school. After completing her [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree at [[Smith College]] in 1930, she earned her [[Master's degree]] in English from [[Boston University]] and taught English at several private Massachusetts high schools from 1932 to 1936.{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}}


In 1936, she met her future husband, Alden Speare, and together the two moved to [[Connecticut]] where they married and raised two children; Alden, Jr., who was born in 1939, and Mary in 1942. Although Speare always intended to write, the challenges and responsibilities of being a mother and wife drained her of any free time. Speare began to focus seriously on literature when her children were in junior high school.
In 1936, she met her future husband, Alden Speare, and together they moved to [[Connecticut]] where they married and raised two children. Although Speare always intended to write, the challenges and responsibilities of being a mother and wife drained her of any free time. Speare began to focus seriously on literature when her children were in junior high school.{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}}


==Literary career==
==Literary career==
Line 60: Line 57:
*''The Prospering'' (1966)
*''The Prospering'' (1966)
*''[[The Sign of the Beaver]]'' (1983) - Newbery Honor<ref name=newbery/>
*''[[The Sign of the Beaver]]'' (1983) - Newbery Honor<ref name=newbery/>

==See also==
⚫
{{Portal bar |Children's literature |New England }} <!-- delete the word "bar" if there are enough ordinary See also -->

==Notes==
{{notelist}}


==References==
==References==
Line 79: Line 70:
<ref name=newbery>
<ref name=newbery>
[http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newberymedal/newberyhonors/newberymedal "Newbery Medal and Honor Books, 1922–Present"]. ALSC. ALA.<br>
[http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newberymedal/newberyhonors/newberymedal "Newbery Medal and Honor Books, 1922–Present"]. ALSC. ALA.<br>
&nbsp; [http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newberymedal/aboutnewbery/aboutnewbery "The John Newbery Medal"]. ALSC. ALA. Retrieved 2013-06-11.</ref>
&nbsp; [http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newberymedal/aboutnewbery/aboutnewbery "The John Newbery Medal"]. ALSC. ALA. Retrieved November 10, 2023.</ref>


}}
}}
Line 85: Line 76:
==External links==
==External links==
*[http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/ALAN/spring95/Mosley.html Internet resources for ''The Sign of the Beaver'']
*[http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/ALAN/spring95/Mosley.html Internet resources for ''The Sign of the Beaver'']
*[http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/grant/historicalfiction/ Fact or Fiction: An Analysis of Historical Fiction Literature by Elizabeth George Speare]
*[http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/grant/historicalfiction/ Fact or Fiction: An Analysis of Historical Fiction Literature by Elizabeth George Speare] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051220013837/http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/grant/historicalfiction/ |date=2005-12-20 }}
*[http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/s/elizabeth-george-speare/ Elizabeth George Speare] at Fantastic Fiction


{{Elizabeth George Speare}}
{{Elizabeth George Speare}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}
⚫
{{Portal bar |Children's literature |New England }} <!-- delete the word "bar" if there are enough ordinary See also -->

{{DEFAULTSORT:Speare, Elizabeth George}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Speare, Elizabeth George}}
[[Category:1908 births]]
[[Category:1908 births]]
Line 101: Line 91:
[[Category:Deaths from aortic aneurysm]]
[[Category:Deaths from aortic aneurysm]]
[[Category:20th-century American novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century American novelists]]
[[Category:American women novelists]]
[[Category:American women historical novelists]]
[[Category:Women historical novelists]]

Revision as of 02:11, 8 April 2024

Elizabeth George Speare
Born(1908-11-21)November 21, 1908
Melrose, Massachusetts, US
DiedNovember 15, 1994(1994-11-15) (aged 85)
Tucson, Arizona, US
OccupationWriter
GenreChildren's historical fiction
Notable works
Notable awardsNewbery Medal
1959, 1962
Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal
1989
SpouseAlden Speare
Children
  • Alden Jr.
  • Mary Elizabeth Carey[1]

Elizabeth George Speare (November 21, 1908 – November 15, 1994) was an American writer of children's historical fiction, including two Newbery Medal winners, recognizing the year's "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children".[2] In 1989 she received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal for her contributions to American children's literature[3] and one of the Educational Paperback Association's top 100 authors.[4]

Life

Speare was born in Melrose, Massachusetts to Harry Allan and Demetria (Simmons) George. Her childhood, as she later recalled, was "exceptionally happy" and Melrose was "an ideal place in which to have grown up, close to fields and woods where we hiked and picnicked, and near to Boston where we frequently had family treats of theaters and concerts."[4]

She had an extended family with one brother and many aunts, uncles, and cousins, and most importantly, very loving and supportive parents. Speare lived much of her life in New England, the setting for many of her books.

Speare began composing stories while still in high school. After completing her Bachelor of Arts degree at Smith College in 1930, she earned her Master's degree in English from Boston University and taught English at several private Massachusetts high schools from 1932 to 1936.[citation needed]

In 1936, she met her future husband, Alden Speare, and together they moved to Connecticut where they married and raised two children. Although Speare always intended to write, the challenges and responsibilities of being a mother and wife drained her of any free time. Speare began to focus seriously on literature when her children were in junior high school.[citation needed]

Literary career

Speare's first published work was a magazine article about skiing with her children. She also wrote many other magazine articles based on her experiences as a mother, and even experimented with one-act plays. Eventually her work saw circulation in Better Homes and Gardens, Woman's Day, Parents, and American Heritage.

Speare's first book, Calico Captive, was published by Houghton Mifflin in 1957. It features a colonial New Hampshire family kidnapped by Native Americans in 1754. The next year she completed her second historical novel, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, which won numerous awards including the Newbery Medal. Ideas and inspiration for both books came to Speare while she was researching the history of New England and Connecticut, respectively. She earned her second Newbery Medal for her third book, The Bronze Bow, published in 1961. The Sign of the Beaver (1984) was a Newbery Honor winner,[2] and won the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction[5] and the Christopher Award.[citation needed]

Biographer Marilyn Fain Apseloff wrote, “…she is not merely a writer of escapist literature, bringing only the past to her readers; in exploring universal problems and offering timeless values, she offers them hope for the present and the future as well."[6]

In 1989, the professional children's librarians awarded Speare the Wilder Medal, which recognizes a living author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made "a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children". At the time it was awarded every three years.[7]

Death

Speare died of an aortic aneurysm on November 15, 1994, aged 85, in Northwest General Hospital, in Tucson, Arizona.[1]

Works

References

  1. ^ a b Sullivan, Ronald (November 16, 1994). "Elizabeth G. Speare, 84, Author Of Children's Historical Novels". The New York Times. New York. Retrieved 2008-06-15. Mrs. Speare is survived by her husband, Alden, and a daughter, Mary Elizabeth Carey of Shaker Heights, Ohio.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Newbery Medal and Honor Books, 1922–Present". ALSC. ALA.
      "The John Newbery Medal". ALSC. ALA. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  3. ^ "Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, Past winners". Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). American Library Association (ALA).
      "About the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award". ALSC. ALA. Retrieved 2013-06-11.
  4. ^ a b "EPA's Top 100 Authors". Detroit, Michigan: Educational Paperback Association. Archived from the original on 2008-05-08. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  5. ^ The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1985. New York: Newspaper Enterprise Association, Inc. p. 415. ISBN 0-911818-71-5.
  6. ^ [5]
  7. ^ Apseloff, Marilyn Fain (1991). Elizabeth George Speare. Twayne Publishers. p. xii.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Elizabeth_George_Speare&oldid=1217820314"