Anne Crawford Flexner (June 27, 1874 – January 11, 1955) born Anne Laziere Crawford, was an American playwright.

Early life and education

Anne Laziere Crawford was born in

Georgetown, Kentucky Georgetown is a home rule-class city in Scott County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 37,086 at the 2020 census. It is the 6th-largest city by population in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is the seat of its county. It was originall ...

, the daughter of Louis G. Crawford and Susan Farnum.Boewe, Mary. She earned a bachelor's degree from

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...

in 1895. One of her Vassar classmates was newspaper publisher and efficiency expert Georgie Boynton Child; Crawford was matron of honor at Boynton's wedding in 1903.

Career

In 1897, Anne Crawford moved to New York City to seek a literary career. She wrote drama reviews for the ''

Louisville Courier-Journal The ''Courier Journal'', also known as the ''Louisville Courier Journal'' (and informally ''The C-J'' or ''The Courier''), and called ''The Courier-Journal'' between November 8, 1868, and October 29, 2017, is the highest circulation newspape ...

'', and began writing her own plays. Her first success, ''Miranda of the Balcony'' (based on a novel by A. E. W. Mason) starred

Minnie Maddern Fiske Minnie Maddern Fiske (born Marie Augusta Davey; December 19, 1865 – February 15, 1932), but often billed simply as Mrs. Fiske, was one of the leading American actresses of the late 19th and early 20th century. She also spearheaded the fig ...

when it opened in 1901. She also adapted the works of her Louisville friend

Alice Hegan Rice Alice Hegan Rice, also known as Alice Caldwell Hegan, (January 11, 1870 – February 10, 1942) was an American novelist. Her 1901 novel Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch became a play and four films. Biography Alice Caldwell Hegan was born on J ...

for the stage, as ''Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch'' (1904), starring

Madge Carr Cook Madge Carr Cook (1856–1933) was an English-born American stage actress. Biography She was most famous for creating the title role in the 1904 Broadway play '' Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch''. She was also famous as the mother of actress Elean ...

Plays by Anne Crawford Flexner

*''A Man's Woman'' (1899) *''Miranda of the Balcony'' (1901) *''Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch'' (1904) *''A Lucky Star'' (1910) *''The Marriage Game'' (1913) *''Wanted – An Alibi'' (1917) *''The Blue Pearl'' (1918) *''All Soul's Eve'' (1920) *''Aged 26'' (1936)

Film adaptations

Flexner's 1904 play ''Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch'' was adapted for the screen in 1914,

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the c ...

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

, and

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...

. ''The Blue Pearl'' (1918) became a film in 1920, and ''All Soul's Eve'' (1920) was adapted for the screen in

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

Personal life

Anne Crawford married educator

Abraham Flexner Abraham Flexner (November 13, 1866 – September 21, 1959) was an American educator, best known for his role in the 20th century reform of medical education, medical and higher education in the United States and Canada. After founding and direct ...

in 1898. Their daughter Jean Flexner attended the London School of Economics; their younger daughter

Eleanor Flexner Eleanor Flexner (October 4, 1908 – March 25, 1995) was an American distinguished independent scholar and pioneer in what was to become the field of women's studies. Her much praised ''Century of Struggle: The Woman's Rights Movement in the Unite ...

(1908–1995) was a noted scholar and proponent of women's studies. Anne Crawford Flexner was hospitalized in mental decline for the last years of her life, and died in 1955, aged 80 years, in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

. Some of her papers are included in the Abraham Flexner Papers, in the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

. Jean Flexner Lewison wrote a biography of her parents, ''A Family Memoir, 1899–1989'', and Abraham Flexner wrote an autobiography, published in 1940.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flexner, Anne Crawford 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 1874 births 1955 deaths Writers from Kentucky American women dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American women writers