Mary Ellin Barrett ( Berlin; November 25, 1926 – July 16, 2022) was an American critic and memoirist, the eldest of three daughters of Ellin (née Mackay) and composer

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Beilin; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Berlin received numerous honors including an Acade ...

Life and career

Barrett was born and grew up 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 ...

, where she attended the Brearley School. She then went to

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 ...

, majoring in music. After graduation, she began to work for ''

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...

'', where she met her future husband, Marvin Barrett. She was the book critic for ''

Cosmopolitan Magazine ''Cosmopolitan'' (stylized in all caps) is an American quarterly fashion and entertainment magazine for women, first published based in New York City in March 1886 as a family magazine; it was later transformed into a literary magazine and, sinc ...

'', where she worked very closely with Helen Gurley Brown. Barrett was the author of three novels: ''Castle Ugly'' was published in 1966, followed by ''An Accident of Love'' in 1973 and ''American Beauty'' in 1981. Her last publication was a memoir entitled ''Irving Berlin: a Daughter's Memoir'', which was released in May 1995. Barrett resided in Manhattan, where she died on July 16, 2022, aged 95.

References

External links

Mary Ellin Barrett Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2011) 1926 births 2022 deaths Place of birth missing 20th-century American memoirists American people of Belarusian-Jewish descent American women memoirists American women novelists 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers Barnard College alumni Brearley School alumni Novelists from New York (state) Memoirists from New York (state) {{US-novelist-1920s-stub