Laura Benét (13 June 1884 – 17 February 1979), was an American

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

biographer Biographers are authors who write an account of another person's life, while autobiographers are authors who write their own biography. Biographers Countries of working life: Ab=Arabia, AG=Ancient Greece, Al=Australia, Am=Armenian, AR=Ancient Rome ...

and

newspaper editor An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held account ...

Early life and education

Laura Benét was born at

Fort Hamilton Fort Hamilton is a United States Army installation in the southwestern corner of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, surrounded by the communities of Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights. It is one of several posts that are part of the region which ...

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 ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, on June 13, 1884. Her brothers, the writer

William Rose Benét William Rose Benét (February 2, 1886 – May 4, 1950) was an American poet, writer, and editor. He was the older brother of Stephen Vincent Benét. Early life and education He was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Col. James Walker Benét ...

and the poet

Stephen Vincent Benét Stephen Vincent Benét ( ; July 22, 1898 – March 13, 1943) was an American poet, short story writer, and novelist. He wrote a book-length narrative poem of the American Civil War, '' John Brown's Body'', published in 1928, for which he receive ...

, both won the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

. She graduated from the

Emma Willard School Emma Willard School, originally called Troy Female Seminary and often referred to simply as Emma, is an independent university-preparatory day and boarding school for young women located in Troy, New York. Located on Mount Ida, it offers grade ...

in 1903 and, four years later, from

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...

with an A.B. degree.

Career

Benét was a settlement worker in

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 ...

from 1913 to 1916 and then became an inspector for the Red Cross Sanitary Commission]during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. After the war, she returned home in 1919 to help care for her brother William's three children after the death of his first wife, Teresa Thompson, sister of the novelist Kathleen Thompson Norris, during the

1918 flu pandemic The 1918–1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the Influenza A virus subtype H1N1, H1N1 subtype of the influenz ...

. Benét occasionally wrote for the ''

Literary Review ''Literary Review'' is a British literary magazine founded in 1979 by Anne Smith, then head of the Department of English at the University of Edinburgh. Its offices are on Lexington Street in Soho. The magazine was edited for fourteen years b ...

'' and then began writing biographies for children and adults while working as a

for ''

The New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative Online newspaper, news website and former newspaper based in Manhattan, Manhattan, New York. From 2009 to 2021, it operated as an (occasional and erratic) onlin ...

'' and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. She mostly wrote literary biographies, including ones on both of her brothers, and also compiled biographies like ''Famous English and American Essayists''. She wrote her

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...

, ''When William Rose, Stephen Vincent, and I Were Young'', in 1976.

Death

Benét died in New York on February 17, 1979.Scanlon & Cosner, pp. 16–17 She is buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

with her parents, U.S. Army Colonel James Walker Benét (1857-1928) and Frances Neill Rose Benét (1860-1940).

Selected works

* ''Fairy Bread'', 1921 * ''Noah's Dove'', 1929 * ''Goods And Chattels'', 1930 * ''The Guinea Pig'', 1930 * ''Basket for a Fair'', 1934 * ''The Boy Shelley'', 1937 * ''Caleb's Luck'', 1938 * ''The Hidden Valley'', 1938 * ''Enchanting Jenny Lind'', 1939 * ''Roxana Rampant'', 1940 * ''Young Edgar Allan Poe'', 1941 * ''Come Slowly, Eden'', 1942 * ''Washington Irving: Explorer of American Legend'', 1944 * ''Is Morning Sure?'', 1947 * ''Thackeray of the Great Heart and Humorous Pen'', 1947 * ''Barnum's First Circus and Other Stories'', 1949 * ''Famous American Poets'', 1950 * ''Coleridge: Poet of Wild Enchantment'', 1952 * ''Stanley: Invincible Explorer'', 1955 * ''In Love With Time: Poems'', 1959 * ''Famous American Humorists'', 1959 * ''Famous Poets for Young People'', 1964 * ''Horseshoe Nails'', 1965 * ''Famous English and American Essayists'', 1966 * ''Famous Biographies for Young People'', 1966 * ''Washington Irving: Explorer Of American Legend'', 1966 * ''Famous New England Authors'', 1970 * ''The Mystery of Emily Dickinson'', 1973 * ''Bridge of a Single Hair: A Book of Poems'', 1974 * ''When William Rose, Stephen Vincent, and I Were Young'', 1976

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Benét, Laura 1884 births 1979 deaths Vassar College alumni 20th-century American biographers American women biographers Settlement workers 20th-century American women writers Emma Willard School alumni