Elizabeth Choate Spykman (née Elizabeth Choate, July 17, 1896 – August 7, 1965) was an American

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

known primarily for her

children's books A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''chi ...

. Choate married geostrategist and founder of the department of international studies at Yale University Nicholas J. Spykman (pronounced "Spike-man") in her mid-thirties, and had two daughters. In 1955, at the age of 59, she published her first children's book, ''A Lemon and a Star''. Her second, ''The Wild Angel'', was published in 1957. ''Terrible, Horrible Edie'' was published in 1960, and her final children's book, ''Edie on the Warpath'', was published posthumously in 1966. These four books are about the Cares children growing up in Summerton, Massachusetts, in the 1910s. They are widely believed to be

autobiographical fiction An autobiographical novel, also known as an autobiographical fiction, fictional autobiography, or autobiographical fiction novel, is a type of novel which uses autofiction techniques, or the merging of autobiographical and fictive elements. The l ...

Virginia Haviland Virginia Haviland (May 21, 1911 – January 6, 1988) was an American librarian and writer who became an international authority in children's literature. She chaired the prestigious Newbery-Caldecott Award Committee, traveled and wrote extensivel ...

, writing in ''

The Horn Book ''The Horn Book Magazine'', founded in Boston in 1924, is the oldest bimonthly magazine dedicated to reviewing children's literature. It began as a "suggestive purchase list" prepared by Bertha Mahony and Elinor Whitney Field, proprietors of t ...

'', said of ''A Lemon and a Star'', "A remarkable evocation of turn-of-the-century growing-up in a story with a strong feeling of particular family reminiscence and at the same time of universal childhood . . . Unusually well written." Spykman also wrote a history of the

Westover School Westover School, often referred to simply as "Westover", is an independent college-preparatory day and boarding school for girls. Located in Middlebury, Connecticut, United States, the school offers grades 9 through 12. Early history Mary Hill ...

in 1959.Spykman, Elizabeth Choate, ''Westover'', Middlebury, CT, 1959. In this, she wrote of the Westover School architecture, "the building was intentionally kept free from luxury as unsuited to school life and out of harmony with the atmosphere of the village, and the quiet refinement which goes with straightforward simplicity."

Early life

Elizabeth Choate Spykman was born on July 17, 1896, in Southborough, Massachusetts, the fourth of six children. Her father, Charles Francis Choate, Jr. was a prominent lawyer for leading Boston financial, communications, and railroad companies, as well as a regent for the Smithsonian Institution, with American roots stretching back to 1643. Amongst Spykman's prominent paternal ancestors are

Rufus Choate Rufus Choate () (October 1, 1799July 13, 1859) was an American lawyer, orator, and Senator who represented Massachusetts as a member of the Whig Party. He is regarded as one of the greatest American lawyers of the 19th century, arguing over a ...

, Helen Choate Bell, and uncles

Joseph Hodges Choate Joseph Hodges Choate (January 24, 1832 – May 14, 1917) was an American lawyer and diplomat. He was chairman of the American delegation at the Second Hague Conference, and ambassador to the United Kingdom. Choate was associated with many of t ...

and

William Gardner Choate William Gardner Choate (August 30, 1830 – November 14, 1920) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. He also cofounded the Choate Rosemary Hall college, a private boarding sc ...

. Her grandfather, Charles Francis Choate, Sr. was the lawyer and later director of a railroad company, as well as leader of various Boston financial institutions. Spykman's mother, Louise Burnett, was the 11th of 12 siblings, born in Southborough, Massachusetts, to Joseph Burnett (educator) and Josephine Cutter. Spkyman's childhood home was on the western side of Southborough, an area largely occupied by the homes and properties of various Burnett relatives, with nearby reservoirs built in the 1890's to supply Boston with water, and was much like the setting of her novels.

References

1896 births 1965 deaths American children's writers People from Southborough, Massachusetts {{US-child-writer-stub