Linda Simon (born 12 December 1946) is

professor emerita ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

of English at Skidmore College.

Early life

Simon was born in Brooklyn, New York, on 12 December 1946, and grew up in Flushing, New York. She is the oldest daughter of Samuel M. Perlin and Kay Perlin. She attended

Queens College Queens College (QC) is a public college in the Queens borough of New York City. It is part of the City University of New York system. Its 80-acre campus is primarily located in Flushing, Queens. It has a student body representing more than 170 ...

, New York, and holds a master's degree from New York University, and earned a PhD in English from Brandeis University, where her mentors included

Milton Hindus Milton may refer to: Names * Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname) ** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet * Milton (given name) ** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free ...

and Michael T. Gilmore.

Teaching

She taught in the Expository Writing Program at Harvard University, serving as director of the writing center before joining the English department at Skidmore College, where she was a professor and department chair. At Skidmore, she taught in two abroad programs in London and Paris, where she conducted research for a biography of Coco Chanel. Simon lives in

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

, California. She is

of English at Skidmore College.

Writing

A trip to Paris inspired Simon's first book, '' Gertrude Stein: A Composite Portrait'' (Avon, 1974), which then led to her writing a biography of Stein's companion

Alice B. Toklas Alice Babette Toklas (April 30, 1877 – March 7, 1967) was an American-born member of the Parisian avant-garde of the early 20th century, and the life partner of American writer Gertrude Stein. Early life Alice B. Toklas was born in San F ...

. Simon is drawn to biographical subjects who defied expectations in forging their identity and life path, including Toklas, the philosopher and psychologist William James, and fashion designer Coco Chanel. ''Genuine Reality: A Life of William James'' was selected as a '' New York Times'' Notable Book of 1997. Her research for a cultural history, ''Dark Light: Electricity and Anxiety from the Telegraph to the X-ray'', was supported by a grant from the American Philosophical Society. A past president of the

William James Society The William James Society (WJS) is an interdisciplinary professional society which supports the study of the life and work of American psychologist and philosopher William James William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an ...

, since 2006, she has served as general editor of the society's journal ''William James Studies'', and has contributed introductions to volumes V and VI of ''The Correspondence of William James,'' edited by

Ignas Skrupskelis Ignas is a Lithuanian masculine given name. It may refer to: *Ignas Barkauskas (born 1988), Lithuanian diver *Ignas Brazdeikis (born 1999), Lithuanian basketball player *Ignas Budrys (1933–1999), Lithuanian painter *Ignas Darkintis (born 1989) ...

and Elizabeth Berkeley.

Selected publications

* ''The Biography of Alice B. Toklas'' (Doubleday, 1977; University of Nebraska Press, 1991) * ''Thornton Wilder: His World'' (Doubleday, 1979) * ''Genuine Reality: A Life of William James'' (Harcourt, 1998; University of Chicago Press, 1999) * ''Dark Light: Electricity and Anxiety from the Telegraph to the X-Ray'' (Harcourt, 2004; Harvest, 2005) * ''The Critical Reception of Henry James: Creating a Master'' (Camden House, 2007) * ''Gertrude Stein Remembered'' (University of Nebraska Press, 1994) (Editor) * ''William James Remembered'' (University of Nebraska Press, 1996) * ''Coco Chanel'' 2011. * ''The Greatest Shows on Earth: A History of the Circus''. 2014. * ''Lost Girls: The Invention of the Flapper''. 2016.

References

External links

* Living people 1946 births Skidmore College faculty Brandeis University alumni American biographers American academics of English literature Academics from Brooklyn Queens College, City University of New York alumni People from Flushing, Queens New York University alumni {{US-English-academic-bio-stub