Helen Smith Woodruff

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Helen Smith Woodruff (born June 7, 1888 in Selma , Alabama , † October 14, 1924 in New York City ) was an American author of children's and youth books , which were especially popular in the second decade of the 20th century. Her best-selling book was the novel The Lady of the Lighthouse (1913). Today her novels are almost forgotten, but she was also notable because all the profits from her books were used for charity .

Life

Helen was born in Selma to Oscar Emmet and Emma West Smith. She received her schooling from private tutors . At the age of 18 she married Lewis B. Woodruff of New York City , where she lived after the marriage until her untimely death.

During her writing career, Woodruff became a member of the Authors League of America and sat on its executive board. She died on October 14, 1924, at the age of only 36, of a fall from a window on the second floor of her New York house. It is controversial whether her death was suicide or possibly the result of delirium due to a prolonged illness.

plant

Almost all of Woodruff's books are located in the southern United States . Mr. Doctor-Man (1915) e.g. B. tells of a small town doctor's fight for a hospital for needy children in the fictional city of Hamburg, which represents the city of Birmingham in Alabama. In her works Mis' Beauty (1912) and The Little House (1914) the author also makes use of characters and the language of the southern states.

Woodruff's novels are primarily characterized by their optimism . Her children's book Really Truly Fairy Stories (1915) describes the adventures of a dissatisfied young girl who finds her happiness after being adopted by fairies. The Lady of the Lighthouse (1913), her most popular book, is about illuminating the world of a blind boy. Woodruff donated the proceeds from all of her books to charity. The Lady of the Lighthouse e.g. B. raised $ 300,000 for the New York Association of the Blind (now the Lighthouse Guild ); her play Hurray for the Girls (1918) made money for the American Committee for Devastated France ; and the proceeds from Mr. Doctor-Man helped build the Birmingham Children's Hospital, which she campaigned for her entire life.

Works

Books

  • Mis' Beauty (1912)
  • The Lady of the Lighthouse (1913)
  • Really Truly Nature Stories (1913)
  • The Little House (1914)
  • Mr. Doctor-Man (1915)
  • Really Truly Fairy Stories (1915)
  • The Imprisoned Freeman (1918)
  • What David Did (1921)

Plays

  • Hurray for the Girls (1918)
  • Kitty, Kitty, Kitty (1919)
  • By Love's Speedometer (1919)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Candice C. Richardson: Helen Smith Woodruff . In: Encyclopedia of Alabama . January 25, 2011. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
personal data
SURNAME Woodruff, Helen Smith
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American writer
DATE OF BIRTH June 7, 1888
PLACE OF BIRTH at Selma , Alabama
DATE OF DEATH October 14, 1924
Place of death New York City