Elsie Spicer Eells (September 21, 1880 – May 24, 1963) was an American researcher of

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

with Iberian roots and a writer who traveled in the early years of the twentieth century across the Atlantic basin. She is noted for the publication of several collections of short stories and legends based on the oral tradition of various regions she visited, including

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and the

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

Biography

Born Eusebia Spicer in West Winfield, New York. She married Burr Gould Eells, a superintendent of schools established by the

Presbyterian Board of Missions Presbyterian Mission Agency is the ministry and mission agency of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Founded as the Western Foreign Missionary Society by the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America in 1837, it was involved in sending w ...

in Brazil, where she lived for three years. Having traveled in the 1920s and 1930s to various countries as a researcher at

The Hispanic Society of America ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

in New York, something unusual at the time, Elsie Spicer Eells was the author of numerous works, including ''Fairy Tales from Brazil'' (1917), ''Tales of Giants from Brazil'' (1918), ''The Islands of Magic Legends, Folk and Fairy Tales from the Azores'' (1922), ''South America's Story'' (1931), and ''Tales of Enchantment from Spain'' (1950). Part of her work on traditional Brazilian tales was inspired by

Sílvio Romero Sílvio Vasconcelos da Silveira Ramos Romero (April 21, 1851 – June 18, 1914) was a Brazilian " Condorist" poet, essayist, literary critic, professor, journalist, historian and politician. He founded and occupied the 17th chair of the Brazili ...

's collection of ''Popular Tales of Brazil'' ( pt). She was a contributing writer for several New York magazines, including '' The Outlook'' and ''

The Delineator ''The Delineator'' was an American women's magazine of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, founded by the Butterick Publishing Company in 1869 under the name ''The Metropolitan Monthly.'' Its name was changed in 1875. The magazine was publi ...

.'' Elsie Spicer Eells died in

Volusia, Florida Volusia (, ) is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Volusia County, Florida, Volusia County, Florida, United States, on the eastern shore of the St. Johns River. It is about three miles south of Lake George (Florida), Lake George ...

, on May 24, 1963, at the age of 82.

Works

* '' Fairy Tales from Brazil'' (1917) * ''Tales of Giants from Brazil'' (1918)
''The Islands of Magic Legends, Folk and Fairy Tales from the Azores'' (1922)
in ''

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital li ...

'' * ''The Magic Tooth and Other Tales From the Amazon'' (1927) * ''South America's Story'' (1931) * ''Tales of Enchantment from Spain'' (1950).

References

External links

The Islands of Magic Legends, Folk and Fairy Tales from the AzoresFairytalez: Elsie Spicer EellsElsie Spicer Eells: ''The Islands of Magic''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eells, Elsie Spicer 20th-century American women writers Brazilianists 1880 births 1963 deaths American folklorists American women folklorists