Elizabeth Yates McGreal (December 6, 1905 – July 29, 2001) was an American writer. She may have been known best for the biographical novel '' Amos Fortune, Free Man'', winner of the 1951

Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished cont ...

. She had been a Newbery runner-up in 1944 for ''

Mountain Born ''Mountain Born'' is a children's historical novel by Elizabeth Yates. Set in the sparsely populated Rocky Mountains during the 19th century, it describes the life of a shepherd's family. The novel, illustrated by Nora Spicer Unwin, was first ...

''. She began her writing career as a journalist, contributing travel articles to ''

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...

'' and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. Many of her books were illustrated by the British artist

Nora S. Unwin Nora Spicer Unwin (22 February 1907 – 1 January 1982) was a children's book illustrator and writer. She was born near London, England, in a family already renowned for publishing and printing circles and for founding three different publishing h ...

. Yates wrote a three-volume autobiography: ''My Diary – My World'' (1981), ''My Widening World'' (1983), and ''One Writer's Way'' (1984).

Early years and education

Elizabeth Yates was born i
Buffalo, New York
"Elizabeth Yates Papers, 1829-1964", Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts
/ref> the daughter of Harry and Mary Duffy Yates. She was the seventh of eight children. Her father owned a plantation. She had a love of animals and the land, which stemmed from her childhood experiences. She attended Franklin School, graduating in 1924. Yates then spent a year at Oaksmere, a private school near

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, founded by mathematician

Winifred Edgerton Merrill Winifred Edgerton (September 24, 1862 – September 6, 1951) was born in Ripon, Wisconsin. She was the first woman to receive a degree from Columbia University and the first American woman to receive a PhD in mathematics.Kelly, S. E. and ...

. Books were an important part of her life. Yates credited her mother for instilling in her a love for books by reading aloud to the family. At the age of 12, at the request of her father, Yates read through the whole Bible. This was to become one of her favorite books. Her sister also encouraged her to read, and made a list of recommended books for Elizabeth. From an early age, Yates enjoyed writing. In her childhood, she transformed an unused pigeon loft on the family farm into a secret writing place.

Career

After her schooling was finished, she moved to

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

and began writing book reviews and newspaper articles. In 1929, she married William Henry and the couple moved to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, where they lived for the next 10 years. In 1938, her first book, ''High Holiday,'' was an adult novel set in the Swiss Alps. The couple returned to the United States in 1939, and settled in

Peterborough, New Hampshire Peterborough is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,418 at the 2020 census. The main village, with 3,090 people at the 2020 census, is defined as the Peterborough census-designated place (CDP) and ...

. They bought a farm, and a discovery of old artwork during the restoration of the farmhouse prompted Yates to write ''Patterns on the Wall.'' Personal experience formed the basis of many of Yates' novels. Her passion for the land led her to write ''The Road Through Sandwich Notch,'' a book which was influential in preserving that portion of

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

for inclusion in the

White Mountain National Forest The White Mountain National Forest (WMNF) is a federally managed forest contained within the White Mountains in the northeastern United States. It was established in 1918 as a result of the Weeks Act of 1911; federal acquisition of land had alre ...

. Yates conducted writer's workshops at the University of New Hampshire, the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...

, and

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

. She also served as the Director of the New Hampshire Association for the Blind. Yates was widowed in 1963. She died at a hospice in Concord, New Hampshire on July 29, 2001, at the age of 95."Elizabeth Yates; Children's Author" (obit), ''LA Times'', August 4, 2001
/ref>

Recognition

In 1943, ''Patterns on the Wall'' received the Herald Tribune Award. Yates' novel, '' Amos Fortune, Free Man'', received the

, the inaugural

William Allen White Children's Book Award The William Allen White Children's Book Award is a set of two annual awards for books selected by vote of Kansas schoolchildren from lists prepared by committee. As a single award it was established in 1952 by Ruth Garver Gagliardo, a children's l ...

, and the Herald Tribune Award. ''Mountain Born'' received a

Newbery Honor Newbery is a surname. People * Chantelle Newbery (born 1977), Australian Olympic diver * David Newbery (born 1943), British economist *Eduardo Newbery (1878–1908), Argentine odontologist and aerostat pilot * Francis Newbery (disambiguation), s ...

in 1944, while in 1955 ''Rainbow Round the World'' received the

Jane Addams Children's Book Award The Jane Addams Children's Book Award is given annually to a children's book published the preceding year that advances the causes of peace and social equality. The awards have been presented annually since 1953. They were previously given joint ...

from the

Women's International League for Peace and Freedom The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) is a non-profit non-governmental organization working "to bring together women of different political views and philosophical and religious backgrounds determined to study and make kno ...

. In 1970, she was given the

Sarah Josepha Hale Sarah Josepha Buell Hale (October 24, 1788April 30, 1879) was an American writer, activist, and editor of ''Godey's Lady's Book''. She was the author of the nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb". Hale famously campaigned for the creation of the ...

Award "in recognition of a distinguished body of work in the field of literature and letters". In the 1990s, the New Hampshire Association for the Blind began the William and Elizabeth Yates McGreal Society. Yates had been a previous President of the Board, while her husband was the Association's first Executive Director. In 1994, the Concord, New Hampshire Public Library created the Elizabeth Yates Award to honor an individual in the greater Concord area who is actively engaged in inspiring young people to read. Elizabeth Yates' books have been described as "the result of extensive research, a strong underlying belief in God, and a vivid imagination."

List of works

*''High Holiday'', London: A.C. Black, 1938 *''Climbing Higher, an Iceland Adventure'', London: A.C. Black, 1938 *''Hans and Frieda in the Swiss Mountains'', Wide World storybook series, New York: Thomas Nelson, 1939 *''Haven for the Brave'', New York: Knopf, 1941 *''Around the Year in Iceland'' (illustrated by Jon Nielson), Boston: Heath, 1942 (New World Neighbors) *''Under the Little Fir, and other stories'' (illustrated by

) New York: Coward–McCann, 1942 *''Patterns on the Wall'', New York: Knopf, 1943. Rpt. as ''The Journeyman'', South Carolina: JourneyForth, 1990 *''

'' (illustrated by Nora S. Unwin), New York: Coward–McCann, 1943 *''Wind of Spring'', New York: Coward–McCann, 1945 *''Nearby'', New York: Coward–McCann, 1947 *''Beloved Bondage'', New York: Coward–McCann, 1948 *'' Amos Fortune, Free Man'' New York: Aladdin, 1950 *''Brave Interval'', New York: Coward–McCann, 1952 *Prudence Crandall: Woman of Courage, Boyds Mills Press, 1955. *''Pebble in a Pool: The Widening Circle of

Dorothy Canfield Fisher Dorothy Canfield Fisher (February 17, 1879 – November 9, 1958) was an educational reformer, social activist, and best-selling American author in the early 20th century. She strongly supported women's rights, racial equality, and lifelong educat ...

's Life'' New York: Dutton, 1958 *'' The Road Through Sandwich Notch'', Stephen Greene Press, 1973, (Illustrated by Nora Spicer Unwin). *'' The Lighted Heart'' (Illustrated by Nora S. Unwin), New York: Dutton, 1960; Dublin, NH: William L. Bauhan, 1974 *'' The Next Fine Day'', (illustrated by Nora S. Unwin), New York: The John Day Company, 1962 *''

Howard Thurman Howard Washington Thurman (November 18, 1899 – April 10, 1981) was an American author, philosopher, theologian, mystic, educator, and civil rights leader. As a prominent religious figure, he played a leading role in many social justice movements ...

: Portrait of a Practical Dreamer,'' New York: The John Day Company, 1964 *'' Is There a Doctor in the Barn: A Day in the Life of Forrest F. Tenney, Veterinarian,'' New York: Dutton, 1966; Dublin, NH: William L. Bauhan, 1977 *''With Pipe, Paddle and Song: A Story of the French-Canadian Voyageurs circa 1750'' (Illustrated by Nora S. Unwin), New York: Dutton, 1968 *'' On That Night'', (illustrated by James Barkley), New York: Dutton, 1969 (excerpted in Reader's Digest, Dec. 1969) *''Skeezer: Dog With a Mission, '' New York: Harvey House, 1973 (made into a 1983 film) * ''Call It Zest: The Vital Ingredient After Seventy'', Brattleboro, VT: The Stephen Greene Press, 1977 * Autobiography: ** ''My Diary – My World'', Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1981 ** ''My Widening World'', Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1983 ** ''One Writer's Way'', Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1984 *''Sound Friendships; the story of Willa and her hearing ear dog'', Woodstock, VT: The Countryman Press, 1987 *''Spanning Time: A diary keeper becomes a writer'' Carolyn P. Yoder, ed., Peterborough, NH: Cobblestone Pub., 1996 *''Open the Door; a gathering of poems and prose pieces'', Hopkinton, NH: New Hampshire Antiquarian Society, 1999 "Someday You'll Write", New York: E.P. Dutton & Co, 1962, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 62-14706

Compiled or edited

*''Gathered Grace, a short selection of G. MacDonald's Poems, Cambridge: W. Heffer and Sons, 1938 * Enys Tregarthen, ''Piskey Folk: A Book of Cornish Legends'', New York: Day, 1940 * Enys Tregarthen, ''The Doll Who Came Alive'', New York: Day, 1940 *''Joseph, the King James version of a well-loved tale'', New York: Knopf, 1947 * Enys Tregarthen, ''The White Ring'', New York: Harcourt, 1949 *'' The Christmas Story'', New York: Alladin, 1949 *''Your Prayers and Mine'', Boston: Houghton, 1954 *

George MacDonald George MacDonald (10 December 1824 – 18 September 1905) was a Scottish author, poet and Christian Congregational church, Congregational Minister (Christianity), minister. He was a pioneering figure in the field of modern fantasy literature a ...

, ''Sir Gibbie'', New York: Dutton, 1963

References

External links

* (mainly as 'Yates, Elizabeth, 1905–', previous page of browse report) {{DEFAULTSORT:Yates, Elizabeth 1905 births 2001 deaths American children's writers American women novelists Newbery Medal winners Newbery Honor winners Writers from Buffalo, New York People from Peterborough, New Hampshire Novelists from New Hampshire American women children's writers 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American novelists Novelists from New York (state)