Alice Emma Ives (1876–1930) was an American dramatist and journalist. A native of

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, at an early age, she wrote for the newspapers. She was "one of the more prolific women playwrights of the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

". She had considerable success as a writer of verse and short stories, also as a dramatic and art critic. Her stories, written for

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and Detroit papers, were quite extensively copied. One which appeared in the ''Detroit Free Fress'' enjoyed the rounds of different journals, and reached as far as New Zealand. Her verses appeared in ''Our Continent'' and the ''New York Sunday Mercury''.

Early life and education

Alice Emma Ives was born in

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, 1876, where she lived until September, 1890, when she moved with her mother to

. Ives' father died when she was two years old. Her literary bent was early shown. Before she knew how to write in

cursive Cursive (also known as joined-up writing) is any style of penmanship in which characters are written joined in a flowing manner, generally for the purpose of making writing faster, in contrast to block letters. It varies in functionality and m ...

, she printed the verses which she composed. When about seventeen years of age, she wrote her first story, which was promptly accepted by

Frank Leslie Frank Leslie (March 29, 1821 – January 10, 1880) was an English-born American engraving, engraver, illustrator, and publisher of family periodicals. Biography Early life and career Leslie was born on March 29, 1821, in Ipswich, England as H ...

. So severe was she in judging her work that, instead of being elated at her success, she was appalled at what seemed to her an unwarrantable presumption, and never sent another line to a publisher for ten years.

Career

She very early felt the necessity of earning her own living, and after a time that of two others. With her strong imaginative nature rebelling against the uncongenial task, she taught school till her health broke down under the strain. Then she began to send poems and stories to the press. They were extensively copied, but paid for poorly. Her first regular journalistic work was art criticism, and her articles attracted so much notice as to make for her a reputation. She then became a regular contributor to the ''Art Amateur''. Compiling books, writing plays, magazine articles, dramatic criticisms, and, in short, all-around newspaper work, thereafter were her work. Her magazine article which attracted the most attention was "The Domestic Purse-Strings," in the ''Forum'', September, 1890. It was copied and commented on in column editorials, from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and New York to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. Ives, the playwright, is best known by ''The Village Postmaster'' and ''The Brooklyn Handicap''. The latter was performed in 1894. Its theme is a sensational

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

horse race Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

. Ives stated:—"In order to write the play, I lived on the race-track for a couple of months, and I read all the sporting papers I could." ''The Village Postmaster'', 1896, describes a rural spot in

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, with rustic types. A country atmosphere pervades the play. Her first play, ''Don Roderic'', was praised by Lawrence Barrett; ''Reward'', a society drama, was presented in Detroit. ''Lorine'', a Russian story, was played by Frederick Paulding in 1894; its production in

Palmer Palmer may refer to: People and fictional characters * Palmer (pilgrim), a medieval European pilgrim to the Holy Land * Palmer (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Palmer (surname), including a list of people and f ...

's Theater, New York, was successful. ''Lavarre'' and ''A Flower of the Hills'', are also her works. ''Old Miss Pod'' was written for Neil Burgess; and ''The Checkered Hat'', was a one-act

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

play. Ives was a member of the "Twelfth Night" and other New York clubs. She died in 1930.

Selected works

* ''Calanthy's mistake. A comedy in one act.'' * ''The social mirror; a complete treatise on the laws, rules and usages that govern our most refined homes and social circles'', 1886 * ''The village postmaster : a picturesque New England play'', 1900 * ''"The blue letter" : a play in four acts '', 1901 * ''The Sweet Elysium Club : a comedy in one act'', 1902 * ''Aunt Penny, a Bay State spinster : a comedy'', 1902 * ''Starr's girl : a play in four acts'', 1902 * ''A hurry call marriage : a comedy in one act'', 1903 * ''The arrival of Miss Hammond,'', 1907

By Alice E. Ives and Jerome H. Eddy

* ''The village postmaster : a domestic drama in four acts'', 1894

By Alice E. Ives, et al.

* ''Our society : a complete treatise of the usages that govern the most refined homes and social circles. Our moral, social physical and business culture'', 1891

References

Attribution

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Bibliography

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ives, Alice Emma 1876 births 1930 deaths 19th-century American dramatists and playwrights 19th-century American women journalists 19th-century American journalists Writers from Detroit American women dramatists and playwrights Writers from Michigan Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century