Lella Warren (March 22, 1899 – 1982) was a novelist and short story writer who is best known for her historical novel ''Foundation Stone'' chronicling the life of Alabama settlers in the 19th century. She was inducted into the

Alabama Women's Hall of Fame The Alabama Women's Hall of Fame honors the achievements of women associated with the U.S. state of Alabama. Established in 1970, the first women were inducted the following year. The Hall of Fame was originally located on the campus of Judson Co ...

in 1987.

Biography

Lee Ella 'Lella' Warren was born in 1899, in

Clayton, Alabama Clayton is a town in and the county seat of Barbour County, Alabama, United States. The population was 3,008 at the 2010 census, up from 1,475 in 2000. History Clayton has been the county seat since 1834, two years after the creation of Barbo ...

, to Lee Ella Underwood and Benjamin Smart Warren, a physician who helped to found the U.S.

Public Health Service The United States Public Health Service (USPHS or PHS) is a collection of agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services which manages public health, containing nine out of the department's twelve operating divisions. The Assistant Se ...

. Warren's family moved around a good deal during her childhood as her father, then in the Marine Hospital Service, was moved from one posting to another. In 1917, she graduated from Western High School in Washington, D.C. By then her writing was developed enough that her writing teacher sent one of her stories to an editor for

Century Magazine ''The Century Magazine'' was an illustrated monthly magazine first published in the United States in 1881 by The Century Company of New York City, which had been bought in that year by Roswell Smith and renamed by him after the Century Associat ...

, who responded encouragingly. Warren started her undergraduate education at

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

in 1917, transferred to

Goucher College Goucher College ( ') is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Towson, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1885 as a Nonsectarian, nonsecterian Women's colleges in the United States, ...

for her sophomore year, and returned to GWU for her last two years, receiving her A.B. degree in 1921. After graduating, she married John Spanogle, and in late 1922 they had a daughter. They divorced in 1930. In 1936, Warren married the journalist Gerald Breckenridge. They divorced four years later. In 1941, she married her third and last husband, Buel W. "Dan" Patch.

Writing

Warren published her first novel, the quasi-autobiographical ''A Touch of Earth'', in 1926. It was successful enough to prompt an editor for ''

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Internationalism * World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship * Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community * Cosmopolitan ...

'' to put Warren under contract. For the next decade or so, she sold short stories and essays to ''Cosmopolitan'' and other magazines like ''

Good Housekeeping ''Good Housekeeping'' is an American lifestyle media brand that covers a wide range of topics from home decor and renovation, health, beauty and food, to entertainment, pets and gifts. The Good Housekeeping Institute which opened its "Experiment ...

'', ''

McClure's ''McClure's'' or ''McClure's Magazine'' (1893–1929) was an American illustrated monthly periodical popular at the turn of the 20th century. The magazine is credited with having started the tradition of muckraking journalism (investigative journ ...

'', ''

Collier's } ''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter F. Collier, Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened i ...

'', and '' College Humor''. To support herself following her first divorce, she also undertook various jobs in journalism, public relations, and government service. Warren is best known for the 1940 novel ''Foundation Stone'', considered her

magnum opus A masterpiece, , or ; ; ) is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship. Historically, ...

. An historical novel about the Whetstone family, it was based on the history of Warren's own ancestors after their arrival on the Alabama frontier in the 1820s. The novel follows three generations of the Whetstone family after they leave a South Carolina plantation with worn-out soil and strike out for the Alabama wilderness. Warren went beyond family history and did extensive research in archival documents such as court records to ensure the accuracy of her narrative. Her publisher, Alfred Knopf, brought ''Foundation Stone'' out initially as a Borzoi Book in a special limited edition, following up with a trade edition. An overnight success, by the end of the year it was on both the ''Publishers Weekly'' and the

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's lists of bestsellers, reaching no. 2 on the latter. It was translated into Portuguese, Swedish, and Danish within a few years. Key to the novel's success was Warren's focus on the family life of Southern pioneers outside of the plantation world that

Margaret Mitchell Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell (November 8, 1900 – August 16, 1949) was an American novelist and journalist. Mitchell wrote only one novel that was published during her lifetime, the American Civil War-era novel ''Gone With the Wind (novel), Gone ...

had popularized and glamorized in ''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind ...

'' just a few years earlier. The novel's success prompted the

Women's National Press Club The National Press Club is a professional organization and social community in Washington, D.C. for journalists and communications professionals. It hosts public and private gatherings with invited speakers from public life. The club also offers ...

to select Warren as a Woman of the Year for 1941 (the same year it honored Margaret Mitchell). In 1952, Warren published a sequel to ''Foundation Stone'', the second in what she planned to make a trilogy. ''Whetstone Walls'' again featured the Whetstone family, with a central character, Rob Whetstone, based on Warren's father. Picking up after the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

(where ''Foundation Stone'' had left off), it followed the Whetstone family to the end of the century. Warren never completed the third novel in the trilogy, although her manuscript notes suggest she planned to incorporate sections from some of her short stories and unpublished writings into this novel. Warren was still working on her third Whetstone novel when she died of cancer in 1982. Her papers—including correspondence, manuscripts, photographs, and personal memorabilia—are held by Auburn University at Montgomery. In 1987, Warren was inducted into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame. In 1989, a compendium of her unpublished writing came out under the title ''Family Fiction: Unpublished Narratives of Lella Warren''.

Biography

Writing

References

Further reading