Ethel Watts Mumford (1876/1878 – 1940) was an American author from New York City. The surname Mumford came from her first husband, George D. Mumford, a lawyer (married 1894–1901). After her first husband grew intolerant of her prolific writing and art career, she fled to San Francisco in 1899 with their only child, a son. She sued for divorce on grounds of desertion. After the divorce was granted in 1901, she returned to New York, vowing never to remarry unless her husband accepted her career. On June 4, 1906 she married Peter Geddes Grant of

Grantown Grantown-on-Spey ( gd, Baile nan Granndach) is a town in the Highland Council Area, historically within the county of Moray. It is located on a low plateau at Freuchie beside the river Spey at the northern edge of the Cairngorm mountains, about ...

, Morayshire, Scotland. The daughter of a wealthy businessman, she was given a fine education, topped by her study of painting at the Julian Academy of Paris. She traveled extensively in Europe, the Far East, and North America, experience that is well-reflected in her work. Most of her early published works were written in San Francisco including her first novel, ''Dupes''. She was a heavy producer of plays, vaudeville sketches, novels, short stories, joke collections, songs, poems, and articles. She also painted and illustrated books. In her teen years, after studying dramatic technique by reading 2,000 manuscripts, she turned to playwriting. Her farces were produced on New York and London stages. After her 1906 marriage she wrote for a time under the name "Ethel Watts Mumford Grant," adding her second husband's name, but eventually reverted to "Ethel Watts Mumford" as a byline.

Quotes

She said, "God gave us our relatives; thank God we can choose our friends." She said, "Knowledge is power, if you know it about the right person."

Works

* ''Dupes'' (1901) * ''Whitewash'' (1903) * ''Out of the Ashes'' (1913 – ) * ''Sick-a-bed: A farcical comedy in three acts'' (1919)(*made into a 1920 silent film

Sick Abed ''Sick Abed'' is a 1920 silent comedy film produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures/Artcraft, an affiliate of Paramount. It was directed by Sam Wood and stars matinee idol Wallace Reid. It is based on a 1918 Broadw ...

) * ''All in the Night's Work'' (1924) * ''Hand-reading today: A new angle of an ancient science'' (1925) With Addison Mizner and

Oliver Herford Oliver Herford (2 December 1860 – 5 July 1935) was an Anglo-American writer, artist, and illustrator known for his pithy ''bon mots'' and skewed sense of humor. He was born in Sheffield, England on 2 December 1860 to Rev. Brooke Herford a ...

*''The Cynic's Calendar of Revised Wisdom for 1903'' (1902).The New York Times. January 10, 1903 *''The Limerick Up to Date Book'' (1903) *''The Cynic's Calendar of Revised Wisdom for 1904'' (1903) *''The Entirely New Cynic's Calendar of Revised Wisdom for 1905'' (1904) *''The Complete Cynic's Calendar of Revised Wisdom for 1906'' (1905) *''The Altogether New Cynic's Calendar of Revised Wisdom for 1907'' (1906) *''The Quite New Cynic's Calendar of Revised Wisdom for 1908'' (1907) *''The Perfectly Good Cynic's Calendar'' (1908) *''The Complete Cynic'' (1910) *''The Revived Cynic's Calendar'' (1917)

References

Ethel Watts Mumford Papers (1900–1934) – The New York Public Library

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mumford, Ethel 1870s births 1940 deaths Novelists from New York (state) American women novelists 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American women writers American women dramatists and playwrights American women poets 20th-century American poets Académie Julian alumni Addison Mizner