Lucy Johnston Sypher (August 6, 1907 – December 1990) wrote a series of four children's books based loosely on her childhood in the small

prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

town of

Wales, North Dakota Wales is a city in Cavalier County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 10 at the 2020 census. Wales was founded in 1897. Gavilon is Wales' largest employer. Geography Wales is located at (48.894101, -98.601778). According to the ...

: ''The Edge of Nowhere'' (1972), ''Cousins and Circuses'' (1974), ''The Spell of the Northern Lights'' (1975), and ''The Turnabout Year'' (1976).

Her life as depicted in her books

The books describe the writer's life early in Wales, as the daughter of George Henry (known as Harry), the town banker, and Caroline, a church organist and music teacher from a cultured, well-educated, big-city family. In the books, eleven-year-old Lucy attends a small country school and befriends the three daughters of an emigrant English family and their spoiled brother, who is nicknamed "The Prince of Wales" ( punning upon his tendency to cry easily and the name of the town.) She visits her big-city cousins and is irritated by her mischievous older brother, Amory. The final book, ''The Turnabout Year'', describes her mother's difficult recovery after the birth of her younger brother, George, and Lucy's decision to attend high school in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with list of lakes in Minneapolis, thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. ...

. Upon publication, Sypher said that events described in the books were highly fictionalized.

Background

Sypher was raised in Wales, the daughter of George and Caroline Gale Johnston. She graduated from the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of N ...

Grand Forks, North Dakota Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the state of North Dakota (after Fargo and Bismarck) and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 59,166. Grand Forks, along with its twin city of ...

in 1927 and received her

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learnin ...

in 1929. She was an instructor of English and history at

Lasell Junior College Lasell University (LU) is a private university in Auburndale, Massachusetts. Lasell offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the liberal arts, sciences, and professional fields of study. History Lasell was founded in 1851 as the Auburndal ...

Auburndale, Massachusetts Auburndale is one of the thirteen villages within the city of Newton in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It lies at the western end of Newton near the intersection of interstate highways 90 and 95. It is bisected by the Massachu ...

for some years before she published her first book. Lucy Johnston married

Wylie Sypher Feltus Wylie Sypher (December 12, 1905 – August 1987) was an American non-fiction writer and professor. Sypher was born in Mount Kisco, New York to Harry Wylie Sypher and Martha Berry. He graduated from Amherst College in 1927. He received a m ...

in 1929. She and her husband raised their family in Massachusetts.

Notes

References

*Johnston, Lucy Sypher, ''The Edge of Nowhere,'' Atheneum, 1972, *Johnston, Lucy Sypher, ''Cousins and Circuses,'' Atheneum, 1974 *Johnston, Lucy Sypher, ''The Spell of the Northern Lights,'' Atheneum, 1975 *Johnston, Lucy Sypher, ''The Turnabout Year,'' Atheneum, 1976

External links

M. Sarah Smedman, "Where the Sky Meets the Sand": Dreams and Reality in Prairie Fiction for Young Readers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sypher, Lucy Johnston 1907 births 1990 deaths American children's writers Writers from North Dakota Novelists from Massachusetts People from Cavalier County, North Dakota University of North Dakota alumni American women children's writers 20th-century American women writers Lasell College faculty American women novelists 20th-century American novelists American women academics Tufts University alumni