Alice Tisdale Hobart (January 28, 1882 – March 14, 1967) born Alice Nourse in

Lockport, New York Lockport is both a city and the Lockport (town), New York, town that surrounds it in Niagara County, New York, Niagara County, New York (state), New York. The city is the Niagara county seat, with a population of 21,165 according to 2010 census ...

, was an American novelist. Her most famous book, '' Oil for the Lamps of China'', which was also made into a film, drew heavily on her experiences as the wife of an American oil executive in China amid the turmoil of the overthrow of the

Manchu Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...

in 1912.

Personal life

Spinal meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or a ...

in infancy and a fall when she was seventeen left Alice Nourse with frail health and back trouble which caused her to be semi-invalid at periods throughout her life. She attended the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

, but never graduated, opting instead to take a job. She first traveled to China in 1908 to visit her sister

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

, who taught at a girls' school in

Hangchow Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, wh ...

, and returned two years later to take up a post at the same establishment. After marrying

Earle Tisdale Hobart Earle may refer to: * Earle (given name) * Earle (surname) Places * Earle, Arkansas, a city in Crittenden County, Arkansas, US * Earle, Indiana, an unincorporated town in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, US * Earle, Northumberland, a settlement in Ber ...

, a

Standard Oil Company Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co-f ...

executive, in

Tientsin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...

in 1914, she traveled to

northeast China Northeast China or Northeastern China () is a geographical region of China, which is often referred to as "Manchuria" or "Inner Manchuria" by surrounding countries and the West. It usually corresponds specifically to the three provinces east of t ...

and in 1916 published an article on her experiences at the hands of ''

Honghuzi Honghuzi () were armed Chinese robbers and bandits in the areas of the eastern Russia-China borderland. Their activities extended over southeastern Siberia, the Russian Far East, and Northeast China (then known as Manchuria). They operated in ...

'' bandits in ''

The Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

''. It led to a series of pieces entitled ''Leaves From a Manchurian Diary'' and formed the basis for her first book, ''Pioneering Where the World is Old'' in 1917. Her life in

Changsha Changsha (; ; ; Changshanese pronunciation: (), Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is the capital and the largest city of Hunan Province of China. Changsha is the 17th most populous city in China with a population of over 10 million, an ...

formed the backdrop for her second book, ''By the City of the Long Sand'' in 1926, while an

assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...

Nanking Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

by Nationalist soldiers and her escape over the city wall to the safety of the waiting American gunboats was recounted in ''Within the Walls of Nanking'' in 1928. This book started as a piece in ''

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. (''Scientific American'' is older, b ...

''. Her fictional account of her experiences in China, not surprisingly, focused on the role played by Western businessmen, especially those engaged in importing and selling petroleum products. ''Pidgin Cargo'', set among traders on the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...

, appeared in 1929 and '' Oil for the Lamps of China'' in 1933. After making her home in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

in the 1940s, her subject matter expanded to encompass contemporary

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

in ''The Peacock Sheds His Tail'' (1945) and Californian agrarian life in ''The Cup and the Sword'' (1942) and ''The Cleft Rock'' (1948). In 1959 she published her

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobi ...

, ''Gusty's Child''.Alice Tisdale Hobart, Gusty's Child (New York: Longmans Green, 1959) She published more than a dozen novels in all by the time of her death in 1967, with almost four million copies in print.

Writings

*'' Oil for the Lamps of China'' also published as an

Armed Services Edition Armed Services Editions (ASEs) were small paperback books of fiction and nonfiction that were distributed in the American military during World War II. From 1943 to 1947, some 122 million copies of more than 1,300 ASE titles were distributed to s ...

during WWII. *''Leaves From a Manchurian Diary'' *''Pioneering Where the World is Old'' *''By the City of the Long Sand'' *''Within the Walls of Nanking'' *''Pidgin Cargo'' *''River Supreme'' *''The Peacock Sheds His Tail'' *''The Cup and the Sword'' *''The Cleft Rock'' *''Gusty's Child'' *''Yang and Yin'' *''Their Own Country'' *''Venture Into Darkness'' *''The Serpent-Wreathed Staff'' *''The Innocent Dreamers''

Sources

''Novelguide''

References

External links

* *

* ttp://www.fandango.com/hobart,alicetisdale/filmography/p310443 Synopsis of the two films made from her books {{DEFAULTSORT:Hobart, Alice Tisdale 1882 births 1967 deaths 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers American expatriates in China American women novelists People from Contra Costa County, California People from Lockport, New York University of Chicago alumni

Personal life

Writings

See also

Sources

References

External links