Kate Jordan (23 December 1862 – 20 June 1926) was an Irish-American novelist and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

Early life and education

Kate Jordan was born in Dublin on 23 December 1862. She was the daughter of the academic, Michael James Jordan, and Catherine Jordan (née Mulvey). She had three sisters, Catherine, Martha, and Mary, and three brothers, James, Michael, and John. The family emigrated to

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

when Jordan was 3, settling in New York City, with her father taking a position as a professor. Jordan was educated at private schools and by tutors at home, beginning to write at a young age. A teacher warned her mother that "either she will one day write fiction or she is one of those natural liars to whom truth is unattractive." She published her first story at age 12, encouraged by her father.

Career

Her stories and poems were published in numerous journals and magazines including '' The Saturday Evening Post'', ''

Collier's ''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened in 1905 to ''Collie ...

'', '' McClure's'', and '' The Century Magazine''. She built up a large readership, with one of her most popular pieces, ''The Kiss of Gold'' appearing in October 1892 in '' Lippincott's Monthly Magazine''. Jordan wrote and published a number of novels, mostly melodramas but well received critically. ''Trouble-the-House'' her last novel from 1921 has autobiographical details. Happifat dolls film flashes 1916

Jordan both wrote and adapted a number of plays. One 4 act melodrama, ''The Masked Woman'', ran for 115 performances in 1922-1923. Her plays were not as well received as her novels. Her 1917 ''The Happifats and the Grouch'' was a children's book. She designed a range of dolls, Happifats, to accompany her book. These dolls were bisque and made in Germany by Borgfeldt from 1913-1921, and Japan. Her 1905 novel, ''

Time, the Comedian ''Time, the Comedian'' is an American 1925 silent drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard that stars Mae Busch and Lew Cody Lew Cody (born Louis Joseph Côté; February 22, 1884 – May 31, 1934) was an American stage and film actor whose ...

'', was adapted as a silent film by Fanny and Frederick Hatton which starred

Mae Busch Mae Busch (born Annie May Busch; 18 June 1891 – 20 April 1946) was an Australian-born actress who worked in both silent and sound films in early Hollywood. In the latter part of her career she appeared in many Laurel and Hardy comedies, freque ...

. Jordan travelled extensively, including long stays in England and France. She was a member of the London Pen and Brush Club and the Lyceum, the Writer's Club in London, and was associated with the Society of American Dramatists and the Authors’ League of America. From 1890 to 1920 she was a member of the Cos Cob art colony.

Later life

Jordan married Frederic M. Vermilye, a New York broker, in 1897, but continued to publish under her maiden name. The couple divorced a few years later. Towards the end of her life, Jordan suffered from depression and her health suffered due to

hypertension Hypertension (HTN or HT), also known as high blood pressure (HBP), is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms. Long-term high bl ...

. She developed insomnia due to anxiety over finishing a novel. Jordan left her residence at the

Hotel Touraine Hotel Touraine (1897-1966) in Boston, Massachusetts, was a residential hotel on the corner of Tremont Street and Boylston Street, near the Boston Common. The architecture firm of Winslow and Wetherell designed the 11-story building in the Jacobetha ...

in April 1926 to live with her niece, Mrs George A. Reeder, in Mountain Lakes, New Jersey. She boarded the Boontown-Denville trolley on 20 June 1926, when other passengers noted her nervous demeanour. Her body was found the next morning amongst scrub pines; she was holding a bottle of Lysol. Her death was ruled a

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

, and her ashes were interred in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Tarrytown, New York. She shares a headstone with her younger sister, Martha.

Selected works

*''The Other House'' (1892) *''A Circle in the Sand'' (1898) *''A Luncheon at Nick's'' (1903) *''The Pompadour's Protégé'' (1903) *''Time, the Comedian'' (1905) *''Mrs. Dakon'' (1909) *''The Right Road'' (1911) *''The Creeping Tides'' (1913) *''Secret Springs'' (1914) *"Castles in the Air" (1915 - short story published in the ''

Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...

'') *''Against the Winds'' (1919) *''The Next Corner'' (1921)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jordan, Kate 1862 births 1926 deaths 19th-century American women writers 20th-century American women writers 1926 suicides Burials at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery Suicides by poison Suicides in New Jersey