Jane Gillson Langton (December 30, 1922 – December 22, 2018) was an American author of

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

and

mystery novels Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as s ...

. She also illustrated her novels."Jane Langton Draws On Skills As Artist"
''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'', August 23, 1992

Biography

Langton was born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. She studied

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial g ...

and the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, receiving a bachelor's degree in 1944. She received an M.A. in

art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

from the University of Michigan in 1945, and another M.A. from

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and functioned as the female coordinate institution for the all-male Harvard College. Considered founded in 1879, it was one of the Seven Sisters colleges and he ...

in 1948. She studied at the

Boston Museum School The School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University (Museum School, SMFA at Tufts, or SMFA; formerly the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) is the art school of Tufts University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusett ...

from 1958 to 1959. In 1961, Langton wrote and illustrated her first book for children, ''The Majesty of Grace'', a story about a young girl during the Depression who (to quote ''The New York Times'') "cherishes the illusion that she is really the eldest of King

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952. ...

's three daughters (and therefore the future Queen of England)". Langton later wrote a children's series, The Hall Family Chronicles, and the Homer Kelly murder mystery novels. She also created several stand-alone novels and picture books. Langton's novel ''The Fledgling'' is a

Newbery Honor book 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 ...

. Her novel ''Emily Dickinson is Dead'' was nominated for an

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

and received a

Nero Award The Nero Award is a literary award for excellence in the mystery genre presented by The Wolfe Pack, a society founded in 1978 to explore and celebrate the Nero Wolfe stories of Rex Stout Rex Todhunter Stout (; December 1, 1886 – October 27, ...

. ''The Face on the Wall'' was an editors' choice selection by ''The Drood Review of Mystery'' for 1998. Langton lived in

Lincoln, Massachusetts Lincoln is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The population was 7,014 according to the 2020 United States Census, including residents of Hanscom Air Force Base that live within town limits. The town, located in the MetroWest region o ...

, near the town of

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony) * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...

, the setting of many of her novels. Her husband, Bill, died in 1997. Langton has three adult sons:

Chris Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name * Chris Abani (born 1966), N ...

, David and Andy. Langton died in December 2018, a few days short of her 96th birthday, from complications of a respiratory disease. Her funeral was held at a United Church of Christ.

Reviews

* "Jane Langton is a master blender. She mixes Indian magic, the transcendental philosophies of Emerson and Thoreau, and the plain everyday life of Concord, Mass., and comes up with a splendid fantasy."—Boston Globe * "Always a witty and literate writer."—Chicago Tribune'"Tis the season for mystery novels"
''Chicago Tribune'', December 11, 1995

Bibliography

The Hall Family Chronicles

NB: The model for the Hall Family house is located at 148 Walden Street, Concord, MA. *''The Diamond in the Window'' (1962) *''The Swing in the Summerhouse'' (1967) *''The Astonishing Stereoscope'' (1971) *''The Fledgling'' (1980) *''The Fragile Flag'' (1984) *''The Time Bike'' (2000) *''The Mysterious Circus'' (2005) *''The Dragon Tree'' (2008)

The Homer Kelly novels

*''The Transcendental Murder'' (1964) aka ''The Minuteman Murder'' *''Dark Nantucket Noon'' (1975) *''The Memorial Hall Murder'' (1978) *''Natural Enemy'' (1982) *''Emily Dickinson Is Dead'' (1984) *''Good and Dead'' (1986) *''Murder at the Gardner'' (1988) *''The Dante Game'' (1991) *''God in Concord'' (1992) *''Divine Inspiration'' (1993) *''The Shortest Day: Murder at the Revels'' (1995) *''Dead as a Dodo'' (1996) *''The Face on the Wall'' (1998) *''The Thief of Venice'' (1999) *''Murder at Monticello'' (2001) *''The Escher Twist'' (2002) *''The Deserter: Murder at Gettysburg'' (2003) *''Steeplechase'' (2005)

Other novels

*''The Majesty of Grace'' (1961) aka ''Her Majesty Grace Jones'' *''The Boyhood of Grace Jones'' (1972) *''Paper Chains'' (1977)

Picture books

*''The Hedgehog Boy: A Latvian Folktale'' (1985) *''Salt: From a Russian Folktale'' (1992) *''The String of Pearls'' (1994) *''Saint Francis and the Wolf'' (2007)

References

External links

* Jane Langton's Web Page –
Jane Langton
at publisher HarperCollins *
"In Memoriam Jane Langton"
''

The Horn Book ''The Horn Book Magazine'', founded in Boston in 1924, is the oldest bimonthly magazine dedicated to reviewing children's literature. It began as a "suggestive purchase list" prepared by Bertha Mahony Miller and Elinor Whitney Field, proprietres ...

'' eulogy by

Gregory Maguire Gregory Maguire (born June 9, 1954) is an American novelist. He is the author of '' Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West'', ''Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister'', and several dozen other novels for adults and children. Many ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Langton, Jane 1922 births 2018 deaths 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers American children's writers American mystery writers American women children's writers American women novelists Nero Award winners Newbery Honor winners Novelists from Massachusetts People from Lincoln, Massachusetts Radcliffe College alumni University of Michigan alumni Wellesley College alumni Women mystery writers Writers from Boston