Jean Zimmerman (born 1957) is an American author, poet and historian.

Biography

A graduate of

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Col ...

, Zimmerman earned a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts a ...

degree in poetry from the

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

School of the Arts, and was awarded a New York State Fine Arts grant in 1983. She is married to Gil Reavill. For her first book Zimmerman coauthored, with Felice N. Schwartz, a book about women in corporations, ''Breaking With Tradition: Women and Work, the New Facts of Life'' (1992) based on the

Harvard Business Review ''Harvard Business Review'' (''HBR'') is a general management magazine published by Harvard Business Publishing, a wholly owned subsidiary of Harvard University. ''HBR'' is published six times a year and is headquartered in Brighton, Ma ...

article that ignited the “

mommy track A mommy track is a path in a woman's life that puts priority to being a mother. It can also specifically refer to work arrangements for women in the workforce that facilitate motherhood, such as flexible hours, but at the same time usually provide ...

” debate. Her first solo work was ''Tailspin: Women at War in the Wake of Tailhook'' (1995) which focused on the

Tailhook Association The Tailhook Association is a U.S.-based non-profit fraternal organization supporting the interests of sea-based aviation, with emphasis on aircraft carriers. The word tailhook refers to the hook underneath the tail of the aircraft that catch ...

scandal and the crucial link between sexual harassment and the role of women as warriors. With husband Gil Reavill as co-author, Zimmerman published ''Raising Our Athletic Daughters: How Sports Can Build Self-Esteem and Save Girls’ Lives'' (Doubleday, 1998), which was a Finalist for the 1999 Books for a Better Life Award sponsored by the

National Multiple Sclerosis Society The National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) is a nonprofit organization that was founded in New York City as the Association for Advancement of Research on Multiple Sclerosis on March 11, 1946 by Sylvia Lawry. Ms. Lawry was a lawyer looking fo ...

. Zimmerman's next book, ''Made from Scratch: Reclaiming the Pleasures of the American Hearth'' (2003), was an exploration of homemaking from a feminist perspective. Her non-fiction book, ''The Women of the House: How a Colonial She-Merchant Built a Mansion, a Fortune, and a Dynasty'' (2006), gives a historical portrait of women in pre-Revolutionary

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, with specific reference to Philipse Manor Hall and

Philipsburg Manor House Philipsburg Manor House is a historic house in the Upper Mills section of the former sprawling Colonial-era estate known as Philipsburg Manor. Together with a water mill and trading site the house is operated as a non-profit museum by Historic ...

. ''Love, Fiercely: A Gilded Age Romance'' is a dual biography of Edith Minturn Stokes and

Isaac Newton Phelps Stokes Isaac Newton Phelps Stokes (April 11, 1867 – December 18, 1944) was an American architect. Stokes was a pioneer in social housing who co-authored the 1901 New York tenement house law. For twenty years he worked on '' The Iconography of Manhat ...

, a nineteenth-century couple known for philanthropy, architecture and documenting New York City history. Zimmerman's historical novel ''The Orphanmaster'', set in 17th century

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam ( nl, Nieuw Amsterdam, or ) was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''factory'' gave rise ...

, has been optioned for a film.

Bibliography

*''Breaking With Tradition: Women and Work, the New Facts of Life'' (1992, Warner Books) with Felice N. Schwartz *''Manhattan'' (1994, Fodor's Travel Publications) with Gil Reavill *''Tailspin: Women at War in the Wake of Tailhook'' (1995, Doubleday) *''Raising Our Athletic Daughters: How Sports Can Build Self-Esteem and Save Girls' Lives'' (1998, Doubleday) with Gil Revaill *''Made From Scratch: Reclaiming the Pleasures of the American Hearth'' (2003, Free Press) *''The Women of the House: How a Colonial She-Merchant Built a Mansion, a Fortune and a Dynasty'' (2006, Harcourt) *''Love, Fiercely: A Gilded Age Romance'' (2012, Houghton, Mifflin Harcourt) *''The Orphan Master: A Novel of Early Manhattan'' (2012, Viking Penguin)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zimmerman, Jean 1957 births Living people Barnard College alumni Columbia University School of the Arts alumni 20th-century American poets 21st-century American poets 21st-century American women writers 20th-century American women writers