Elsie Lee (née Williams, January 24, 1912 – February 8, 1987) was an American author of over 35 fiction and non-fiction books.

Life

Elsie Williams was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

to Helen (Bogert) and Samuel Byron Williams, Jr. Samuel was a telephone engineer born in Ohio, who worked for Western Electric in New York City. Helen was a housewife. When Elsie was 13 years old, a brother, David G. Williams, was born. Elsie began cooking at age eight, attended

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeduca ...

Swarthmore, Pennsylvania Swarthmore ( , ) is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Swarthmore was originally named "Westdale" in honor of noted painter Benjamin West, who was one of the early residents of the town. The name was changed to "Swarthmore" after the es ...

from 1928 to 1932, and attended the

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was ...

from 1932 to 1933.''Contemporary Authors,'' Frances Carol Locher, Ed., Gale Research Company, Detroit, MI, Vol. 85-88, 1980, pp. 339-340 Elsie married Morton Lee on December 27, 1941. She was a member of the Society of Friends (

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...

), the

Authors Guild The Authors Guild is America's oldest and largest professional organization for writers and provides advocacy on issues of free expression and copyright protection. Since its founding in 1912 as the Authors League of America, it has counted among ...

of Authors League of America, and Mensa. Her interests included cats, cooking, music, bridge, two-pack solitaire games, word games, and jigsaw puzzles. Elsie worked as a librarian for Price, Waterhouse & Company 1937–1942; as an office manager for Reeves Laboratories 1942–1945; a librarian for the Gulf Oil Company 1947–1951; an executive secretary for Andrews, Clark & Buckley 1951-53 (all in New York City); and as a writer from 1945 until her death. She mentions in ''Elsie Lee's Book of Simple Gourmet Cookery'' that she lived in Washington for six years, and Hollywood for three. Elsie began writing in the 1940s, selling her first stories to the ''

Ladies Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States. In 18 ...

''.''Twentieth-Century Romance and Gothic Writers,'' James Vinson, Ed., Gale Research Company, Detroit, MI, 1982, pp. 426-428 She described her writing this way: "I write fairy tales for grownups, principally women... I am better at characterizations than plots, and best with cats who are unanimously adored by my readers... I will not compromise on the quality of vocabulary and grammar in my books... it is a writer's responsibility to TEACH subtly through entertainment..." Her pseudonyms included Elsie Cromwell, Jane Gordon, and Lee Sheridan. Elsie Williams Lee died February 8, 1987, at the age of 75 while living in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

.Obituary, ''New York Times,'' New York, NY, February 12, 1987, on Ancestry.com ''Historical Newspapers, Births, Marriage, & Death Announcements, 1851-2003'' atabase on-line Provo, UT, USA; Ancestry.com Operations Inc. 2006

Works

Fiction

*''The Blood Red Oscar'' (1962) *'' Sam Benedict: Cast the First Stone''∞ (1963) (The cover wrongly attributes another writer, the prolific tie-in novelist and pulp fiction veteran

Norman Daniels thumb Norman Daniels (born 1942) is an American political philosopher and philosopher of science, political theorist, ethicist, and bioethicist at Harvard University and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Before his career at Harvard ...

, who may initially have had the assignment, but Lee is credited on the title page.) A novelization of the episode "Twenty Aching Years", teleplay by

Ellis Marcus Ellis Marcus (May 6, 1918 – June 23, 1990), was an American television writer whose career spanned four decades. He contributed episodes to over fifty television programs from 1949 through 1984. His wife, Ann (1921-2014), was a writer and produ ...

. *''

The Comedy of Terrors ''The Comedy of Terrors'' is a 1963 American International Pictures horror comedy film directed by Jacques Tourneur and starring Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, and (in a cameo) Joe E. Brown in his final film appearanc ...

''∞ (1964), based on the screenplay by

Richard Matheson Richard Burton Matheson (February 20, 1926 – June 23, 2013) was an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. He is best known as the author of '' I Am Legend'', a 1954 science ficti ...

*''

The Masque of the Red Death "The Masque of the Red Death" (originally published as "The Mask of the Red Death: A Fantasy") is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1842. The story follows Prince Prospero's attempts to avoid a dangerous plague ...

''∞ (1964), based on the screenplay by

Charles Beaumont Charles Beaumont (January 2, 1929 – February 21, 1967) was an American author of speculative fiction, including short stories in the horror and science fiction subgenres.Stefan R. Dziemianowicz, "Beaumont, Charles" in David Pringle, ed., ''S ...

and R. Wright Campbell *''

Muscle Beach Party ''Muscle Beach Party'' is the second of seven beach party films produced by American International Pictures. It stars Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello and was directed by William Asher, who also directed four other films in this series. ...

∞'' (1964), based on the screenplay by Robert Dillon *''Clouds Over Vellanti'' (1965) *''Dark Moon, Lost Lady'' (1965) *''The Doctor's Office'' (1965) *''The Curse of Carranca'' (1966) *''The Drifting Sands'' (1966) *''Mansion of Golden Windows'' (1966) *''Season of Evil'' (as Jane Gordon) (1966) *''Sinister Abbey'' (1967) *''The Spy at the Villa Miranda'' (1967) *''Fulfillment'' (1968) *''Barrow Sinister'' (1969) *''The Governess'' (as Elsie Cromwell) (1972) *''Satan's Coast'' (1969) *''Ivorstone Manor'' (as Elsie Cromwell) (1970) *''The Diplomatic Lover'' (1971) *''Star of Danger'' (1971) *''Silence is Golden'' (1971) *''Wingarden'' (1971) *''The Passions of Medora Graeme'' (1972) *''Prior Betrothal'' (1973) *''The Wicked Guardian'' (1973) *''Second Season'' (1973) *''An Eligible Connection'' (1975) *''The Nabob's Widow'' (1976) *''Roommates'' (1976) *''Mistress of Mount Fair'' (1977) ∞Novelizations of a television show or screenplay

Non-fiction

*''How to Get the Most Out of Your Tape Recording'' (with Michael Sheridan as Lee Sheridan) (1958) *''More Fun with Your Tape Recordings and Stereo'' (with Michael Sheridan as Lee Sheridan) (1958) *''The Exciting World of Rocks and Gems'' (1959) *''The Bachelor's Cookbook'' (with Michael Sheridan as Lee Sheridan) (1962) *''Easy Gourmet Cooking'' (1962) *''At Home with Plants: A Guide to Successful Indoor Gardening'' (1966) *''Second Easy Gourmet Cookbook'' (1968) *''Elsie Lee's Book of Simple Gourmet Cookery'' (1971) *''Elsie Lee's Party Cookbook'' (1974)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Elsie 1912 births 1987 deaths American Quakers Swarthmore College alumni Pratt Institute alumni 20th-century American women writers Pseudonymous women writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers 20th-century Quakers