Louise Collier Willcox (, Collier;

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

, Clarence Wellford; April 24,1865September 13,1929) was an American author, editor, anthologist, translator, and suffragist. During her career, she worked for ''

Harper's Weekly ''Harper's Weekly, A Journal of Civilization'' was an American political magazine based in New York City. Published by Harper (publisher), Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many su ...

'', ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' (stylized as ''Harper's BAZAAR'') is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. Bazaar has been published in New York City since November 2, 1867, originally as a weekly publication entitled ''Harper's Bazar''."Corporat ...

'', ''

North American Review The ''North American Review'' (''NAR'') was the first literary magazine in the United States. It was founded in Boston in 1815 by journalist Nathan Hale (journalist), Nathan Hale and others. It was published continuously until 1940, after which i ...

'',

Macmillan Publishers Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd in the United Kingdom and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC in the United States) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be on ...

, and E. P. Dutton & Co. Willcox was the author of several books, and she contributed to several magazines and newspapers, sometimes using a

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

. Her publications included, ''Answers of the Ages'', ''The Human Way'' (1908), and ''A Manual of Spiritual Fortification'' (1910). She died suddenly in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France, age 64.

Early life and education

Louise Price Collier was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, on April 24, 1865. Her parents were Reverend Robert Laird Collier and Mary (Price) Collier. She was educated by private tutors in France, Germany, and England, and also attended the Conservatory of Leipzig from 1881 to 1882.University of Music and Theatre Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Leipzig, archive, A, I.1, 3350 (study documents) Her literary training came mainly through personal conversations and study with her father and his friends, among whom were

Matthew Arnold Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was an English poet and cultural critic. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold (academic), Tom Arnold, literary professor, and Willi ...

Lord Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of ...

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, minister, abolitionism, abolitionist, and poet who led the Transcendentalism, Transcendentalist movement of th ...

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include the poems " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and '' Evangeline''. He was the first American to comp ...

, and Baron Tauchnitz.

Career

On June 25, 1890, in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

, she married James Westmore Willcox, a prominent lawyer of that city. They had two children, a daughter, Christine Price Willcox Capelli (18931967) and a son, James Westmore Willcox, Jr. (18941971). Her life was largely devoted to literary occupations of various kinds. For quite a time, she was an editorial writer for ''Harper's Weekly'' and a contributor to ''Harper's Bazaar''. From 1896 to 1903, she was on the staff of the ''North American Review''. From 1903 to 1909, she was reader and literary adviser to Macmillan Publishers. From 1910 to 1917, she worked for E. P. Dutton & Co. She was a contributor to ''Century'', ''Outlook'', and ''New York Evening Post''. She also contributed to ''Chap Book'' and to ''East and West'' under the pen name "Clarence Wellford". Willcox was the author of several publications including, ''Answers of the Ages''; ''The Human Way'' (1908, essays); ''A Manual of Spiritual Fortification'', (1910, an anthology of mystic poems); and "The Road to Joy" (1912, essay). Willcox favored

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

and was the honorary vice-president of the

Equal Suffrage League of Virginia The Equal Suffrage League of Virginia was founded in 1909 in Richmond, Virginia. Like many similar organizations in other states, the league's goal was to secure voting rights for women. When the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constituti ...

. She was prominent in matters connected with literature and art in the city of Norfolk. She was a member of the

National Institute of Social Sciences The National Institute of Social Sciences (NISS) is one of the oldest honorary societies in the United States. The stated mission of NISS is to promote the study of the social sciences, to support social science research and discussion, and to ho ...

, the MacDowell Club of New York City, and the

Poetry Society of America Poetry (from the Greek word '' poiesis'', "making") is a form of literary art that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meanings in addition to, or in place of, literal or surface-level meanings. Any partic ...

Death

In July 1929, Willcox traveled abroad and died suddenly in

, France, on September 13, 1929. The Louise Collier Willcox papers are held by the

Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library The Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia is a research library that specializes in American history and literature, history of Virginia and the southeastern United States, the history of the University ...

at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

Selected works

Books

* ''Answers of the Ages'', 1900 * ''The Human Way'', 1908 * ''A Manual of Spiritual Fortification'', 1910 * ''A Manual of Spiritual Verse'', 1917 * ''The House in Order'', 1917

Essays

* "The Road to Joy", 1912

References

Attribution

* * * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Willcox, Louise Collier 1865 births 1929 deaths 19th-century American women writers 19th-century pseudonymous writers 20th-century American women writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers American anthologists American magazine editors Suffragists from Virginia American translators American women editors Pseudonymous women writers American women anthologists Writers from Chicago