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

Biography

A graduate of

Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

, 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 admi ...

degree in poetry from the

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

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 Felice Nierenberg Schwartz (January 16, 1925 – February 8, 1996) was an American writer, advocate, and feminist. During her career, Schwartz founded two national advancement and advocacy organizations. In 1945, she established the National Sc ...

, 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 not-for-profit, independent corporation that is an affiliate of Harvard Business School. ''HBR'' is published six times a year ...

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 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 catches the arresti ...

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 an American nonprofit organization founded in 1946. It is an organization dedicated to supporting individuals affected by multiple sclerosis (MS) and funding research to find a cure for the diseas ...

. 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 (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 ...

, with specific reference to

Philipse Manor Hall Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site is a historic house museum located in the Getty Square (Yonkers), Getty Square neighborhood of Yonkers, New York, Yonkers, New York (state), New York. Originally the family seat of Philipsburg Manor, Phi ...

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 New York State Tenement House Act, 1901 New York tenement house law. For twenty years he work ...

, 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 (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, 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 (trading post), fac ...

, has been optioned for a film. Her follow-up historical novel, ''Savage Girl'', centers on the

Gilded Age In History of the United States, United States history, the Gilded Age is the period from about the late 1870s to the late 1890s, which occurred between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was named by 1920s historians after Mar ...

in the

Comstock Lode The Comstock Lode is a lode of silver ore located under the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range in Virginia City, Nevada (then western Utah Territory), which was the first major discovery of silver ore in the U ...

and

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

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) *''Savage Girl: A Novel'' (2014, 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