Mary Platt Parmele (July 14, 1843 – May 26, 1911) was an American

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

and writer.

Early life

Parmele was born in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

and educated in

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 * ...

. She was the daughter of

Zephaniah Platt Zephaniah Platt (May 27, 1735 – September 12, 1807) was an American politician and lawyer, and founder of the U.S. town of Plattsburgh, New York. Early life Platt was born in Huntington, Province of New York, to Zephaniah Platt (1705-1778). ...

and Cornelia Jenkins Platt. Her father was the

Michigan Attorney General The attorney general of the State of Michigan is the fourth-ranking official in the U.S. state of Michigan. The officeholder is elected statewide in the November general election alongside the governor of Michigan, governor, Lieutenant Governor of ...

, and her grandfather was

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

Jonas Platt Jonas Platt (June 30, 1769 – February 22, 1834) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives. Early life Platt was born on June 30, 1769, in Poughkeepsie, Province of New Y ...

Career

From 1892 Parmele contributed philosophical articles and short stories to reviews and magazines. Her most successful books were a number of "Short History" books of various countries written in the late 19th and early 20th century. Her "Short History of ..." books included volumes on France, Russia, England, United States, Germany, Spain, and Italy. Her style was appreciated by critics as readable, lively, and comprehensive. Parmele ventured beyond straight historical writing with ''Ariel, or the Author's World'' (1892), in which a character has the power to transport himself to a planet orbiting Earth, "created by atoms obeying the wills of writers", thus inhabited by fictional creations such as

Frankenstein's monster Frankenstein's monster, commonly referred to as Frankenstein, is a fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' as its main antagonist. Shelley's title compares the monster's ...

. Parmele was critical of the claims of

Christian Science Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices which are associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes in ...

. In 1904, she published a book that argued against the claims of Christian Science.

Publications

*''Answered in the Negative'' (1892, two stories) *''The Evolution of an Empire: A Brief Historical Sketch of France'' (1894) *''A Short History of England'' (1898) *''A Short History of France'' (1898) *''A Short History of Germany'' (1898) *''A Short History of Spain'' (1898) *''A Short History of the United States'' (1898) *''Ariel, or the Author's World'' (1898, chapbook) *''The Kingdom of the Invisible'' (1902) *''Christian Science: Is it Christian? Is it Scientific?'' (1904) *''A Short History of England, Ireland, and Scotland'' (1907) *''A Short History of Rome and Italy'' (1907) *''A Short History of Russia'' (1907)

Personal life

Mary Platt married twice. Her first marriage was to Samuel J. Agnew; they had two sons, Howard and Holmes, and divorced. In 1870, she married her cousin, widower Theodore Weld Parmele; he died in 1893. She lived with Mrs. J. J. Tierney in her last years, and died when she was struck by a motorcycle in 1911, at the age of 67, in New York City. Her son Holmes Agnew was institutionalized at the time of her death. Her grave is in Brooklyn's historic

Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope, Brooklyn, South Slope/Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn, Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, Win ...

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Parmele, Mary Platt 1843 births 1911 deaths American Christians American women historians Critics of Christian Science Writers from Albany, New York Historians from New York (state)