Mary Ellen Chase (24 February 1887 – 28 July 1973) was an American educator, teacher, scholar, and author. She is regarded as one of the most important regional New England literary figures of the early twentieth century.

Early life

Chase was born in

Blue Hill, Maine Blue Hill is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States, located on Blue Hill Bay. The population was 2,792 at the 2020 census. It is home to the Blue Hill Public Library, Blue Hill Memorial Hospital, George Stevens Academy, the Blue Hill ...

; her father was an attorney and her mother a homemaker. Early inspiration to become a writer came from her grandmother's stories of her grandfather's decade as a ship's captain, as well as a meeting at age 13 with novelist

Sarah Orne Jewett Theodora Sarah Orne Jewett (September 3, 1849 – June 24, 1909) was an American novelist, short story writer and poet, best known for her local color works set along or near the southern coast of Maine. Jewett is recognized as an important ...

, who encouraged her.

Career

Chase earned a bachelor's degree from the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine, United States. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universitie ...

in 1909, then both a master's and Ph.D. in English from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

. During this time, she also taught at schools in Buck's Harbor, Maine,

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 ...

, and

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

, before serving as an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota from 1922 to 1926. While a student, she was a member of

Alpha Omicron Pi Alpha Omicron Pi (, AOII, Alpha O) is an international sorority founded on January 2, 1897, at Barnard College on the campus of Columbia University in Manhattan, New York City. The main archive URL iThe Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage "AO ...

. She taught at

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...

starting in 1926 until her retirement in 1955. She was the lifelong companion of Eleanor Duckett, a medieval scholar whom she met at Smith, and with whom she lived in

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

until her death. Two adjoining residence halls on the Smith campus are named for Chase and Duckett. Chase wrote more than 30 books, many using her cherished Maine heritage as the setting. Her most famous of these works include ''Mary Peters'', ''Silas Crockett'', ''Windswept'', and ''Edge of Darkness''. The summer home she lived in from 1941 to 1955, Windswept in

Steuben, Maine Steuben is a town in Washington County, Maine, United States. Incorporated in 1795, it was named after Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, the Inspector General of the U.S. Army during the Revolutionary War. The population was 1,129 at the ...

, was the inspiration for her bestselling book ''Windswept''. The property was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2007.

Awards

In 1956 the

Women's National Book Association The Women's National Book Association (WNBA) was established in 1917, as an organization to promote the role of women in the community of the book.The Women's National Book Association Walker, Belle M. The Bookman; a Review of Books and Life (1895� ...

awarded her the Constance Lindsay Skinner Award.

Death

Chase died in

Northampton, Massachusetts The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence, Massachusetts, Florence and ...

Bibliography

* ''His Birthday'' (1915) * ''Studies of Thomas Hardy'' (1927) * ''The Writing of Informal Essays'' (1928) * ''A Goodly Heritage'' (1932,

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

) * ''Mary Peters'' (1934) * ''Silas Crockett'' (1935) * ''This England'' (1936) * '' Dawn in Lyonesse'' (1938) * ''A Goodly Fellowship'' (1939,

) * ''Windswept'' (1941) * ''The Book of Ruth: from the translation prepared at Cambridge in 1611 for King James'' (1947) * ''Jonathan Fisher, Maine Parson 1768-1847'' (1948) * ''The White Gate'' (1954) * ''The Edge of Darkness'' (1957) * ''Donald McKay and the Clipper Ships'' (1959) * ''The Lovely Ambition'' (1960) * ''The Prophets for the Common Reader'' (1963) * ''Abby Aldrich Rockefeller'' (1966) * "Life and Language in The Old Testament" (1955)"Life and Language in The Old Testament" 1955 By Mary Ellen Chase (First Edition) Published By W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. New York * "Recipe for a Magic Childhood" (1952)

autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

References

1. Chase, Mary Ellen. Introduction to Country of the Painted Firs, 1968.

External links

Mary Ellen Chase papers
at the

Smith College Archives Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college with coed graduate and certificate programs, located in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. The Smith College Archives document the life of the College by collecting mate ...

, Smith College Special Collections
Mary Ellen Chase literary manuscripts
at the

Mortimer Rare Book Collection The Mortimer Rare Book Collection (MRBC) is the rare books collection of Smith College. Along with the Sophia Smith Collection and College Archives (Smith College), Smith College Archives, it makes up Smith College Special Collections. The colle ...

, Smith College Special Collections * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chase, Mary Ellen 1887 births 1973 deaths 20th-century American novelists Novelists from Maine Novelists from Massachusetts Novelists from Minnesota University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts alumni People from Blue Hill, Maine People from Northampton, Massachusetts Smith College faculty University of Minnesota faculty American women novelists 20th-century American women writers American women academics