Viola Roseboro' (December 3, 1857Viola Roseboro': A Prototype for Cather's "My Mortal Enemy"
by Merrill M. Skaggs, in ''

Mississippi Quarterly The ''Mississippi Quarterly: The Journal of Southern Cultures'' is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal that mainly covers Southern history and literature. Originally entitled ''Social Sciences Bulletin'', it was established in 1948 by John K. Bet ...

''; Winter 2000-2001, vol. 54, no. 1, pp. 5-21 — January 29, 1945)VIOLA ROSEBORO', FICTION EDITOR, 87: Former McClure's, Collier's Executive Dies--Helped O. Henry Get Start Bought Tarkington Stories Praised by Will Irwin
in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''; published January 30, 1945; retrieved August 8, 2021 was an American literary editor. She was the fiction editor for ''

McClure's ''McClure's'' or ''McClure's Magazine'' (1893–1929) was an American illustrated monthly periodical popular at the turn of the 20th century. The magazine is credited with having started the tradition of muckraking journalism (investigative journ ...

'' and, later, for ''

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

'', in which role she discovered several important authors.

Ida Tarbell Ida Minerva Tarbell (November 5, 1857January 6, 1944) was an American writer, Investigative journalism, investigative journalist, List of biographers, biographer, and lecturer. She was one of the leading muckrakers and reformers of the Progre ...

called her a "born reader" and a "reader of real genius".

Early life

Roseboro' was born in

Pulaski, Tennessee Pulaski is a city in and the county seat of Giles County, which is located on the central-southern border of Tennessee, United States. The population was 8,397 at the 2020 census. It was named after Casimir Pulaski, a noted Polish-born general o ...

,ROSEBORO, Viola
in ''

Who's Who in America Marquis Who's Who, also known as A.N. Marquis Company ( or ), is an American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies. The books usually are entitled ''Who's Who in...'' followed by some subject, such as ''Who's Who in A ...

'' (1901-1902 edition); via

archive.org The Internet Archive is an American non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including websites, software applic ...

in 1857. Her parents, the Reverend Samuel Reed Roseboro' and Martha Colyar,Gertrude Hall Brownell Collection of Viola Roseboro' Correspondence
at the Amherst College Archives and Special Collections; retrieved August 8, 2021. Click 'See more'. were

abolitionists Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. T ...

, and the family was soon forced to flee to

Mattoon, Illinois Mattoon ( ) is a city in Coles County, Illinois, United States. The population was 16,870 as of the 2020 census. The city is home to Lake Land College and has close ties with its neighbor, Charleston, Illinois, Charleston. Both are principal cit ...

, where Roseboro' lived for the duration of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

.BOOK REVIEWS: "Viola, the Duchess of New Dorp: A Biography of Viola Roseboro'"
by S. A. Wetherbee, in the ''Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society'', volume 49, number 1 (Spring 1956) Her uncle was Tennessee publisher and politician Arthur St. Clair Colyar. She graduated from the Fairmount School in

Monteagle, Tennessee Monteagle is a town in Franklin, Grundy, and Marion counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, in the Cumberland Plateau region of the southeastern part of the state. The population was 1,238 at the 2000 census – 804 of the town's 1,238 re ...

, and, under the name Viola Roseborough, briefly pursued a theatrical career with the Shook and Collier Company.Viola, the Duchess of New Dorp, a Biography of Viola Roseboro' by Jane Kirkland Graham
reviewed by Isabel Howell, in ''Tennessee Historical Quarterly'' Vol. 15, No. 4 (December 1956), pp. 368-370 She moved to New York City in 1882 and continued performing; however, in 1887Person Annotations: Viola Roseboro'
at the Willa Cather Archives,

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the M ...

she was forced to retire after she developed

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

Literary career

Roseboro' began her literary career with a weekly arts column in '' The Nashville Daily American''. By 1887, her writing was being published in ''

The Century Magazine ''The Century Magazine'' was an illustrated monthly magazine first published in the United States in 1881 by The Century Company of New York City, which had been bought in that year by Roswell Smith and renamed by him after the Century Associati ...

'', '' The Cosmopolitan'', and ''

The Daily Graphic ''The Daily Graphic: An Illustrated Evening Newspaper'' was the first American newspaper with daily illustrations. It was founded in New York City in 1873 by Canadian engravers George-Édouard Desbarats and William Leggo, and began publicati ...

''; this brought her in contact with

S. S. McClure Samuel Sidney McClure (February 17, 1857 – March 21, 1949) was an American publisher who became known as a key figure in investigative, or muckraking, journalism. He co-founded and ran ''McClure's Magazine'' from 1893 to 1911, which ran numerou ...

, who hired her as a reader for the

McClure Syndicate McClure Newspaper Syndicate, the first American newspaper syndicate, introduced many American and British writers to the masses. Launched in 1884 by publisher Samuel S. McClure, it was the first successful company of its kind. It turned the mark ...

, and, subsequently, for ''

McClure's Magazine ''McClure's'' or ''McClure's Magazine'' (1893–1929) was an American illustrated monthly periodical popular at the turn of the 20th century. The magazine is credited with having started the tradition of muckraking journalism ( investigative, wat ...

''. At ''McClure's'', her subordinates included

Sonya Levien Sonya Levien (born Sara Opesken; 25 December 1888 – 19 March 1960) was a Russian-born American screenwriter. She became one of the highest earning female screenwriters in Hollywood in the 1930s and would help a number of directors and film ...

, who she is credited with having "mentored",

Willa Cather Willa Sibert Cather (; born Wilella Sibert Cather; December 7, 1873 – April 24, 1947) was an American writer known for her novels of life on the Great Plains, including ''O Pioneers!'', ''The Song of the Lark (novel), The Song of the Lark'', a ...

(who Roseboro' may have hired,Viola Roseboro’s literary garden
by Stephen Schmalhofer, in ''

The New Criterion ''The New Criterion'' is a New York–based monthly literary magazine and journal of artistic and cultural criticism, edited by Roger Kimball (editor and publisher) and James Panero (executive editor). It has sections for criticism of poetry ...

''; published December 12, 2018; retrieved August 8, 2021 or caused to be hired) and

Witter Bynner Harold Witter Bynner (August 10, 1881 – June 1, 1968), also known by the pen name Emanuel Morgan, was an American poet and translator. He was known for his long residence in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and association with other literary figures ther ...

, whose first poems were published in ''McClure's'' with her approval; Bynner subsequently described his job as delivering manuscripts from the editorial office to Roseboro's apartment. When McClure lost control of the magazine in 1911, Roseboro' left her position there, and by 1913 had joined the staff of ''

''.Advertisement for ''Collier's''
in the ''

Washington Evening Star ''The Washington Star'', previously known as the ''Washington Star-News'' and the ''Washington'' ''Evening Star'', was a daily afternoon newspaper published in Washington, D.C., between 1852 and 1981. The Sunday edition was known as the ''Sunday ...

''; p. 10; published April 29, 1913; via ''

Chronicling America ''Chronicling America'' is an open access, open source newspaper database and companion website. It is produced by the United States National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP), a partnership between the Library of Congress and the National Endowm ...

''; "NEW STORY EDITOR: Collier's has engaged Miss Viola Roseboro', whose ability to choose stories needs no mention to the story-loving public." After her position at ''Collier's'' ended, she became a freelance editorial consultant, and briefly worked again at ''McClure's'' after McClure regained control in 1921. Her discoveries included

Jack London John Griffith London (; January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors t ...

Booth Tarkington Newton Booth Tarkington (July 29, 1869 – May 19, 1946) was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his novels ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' (1918) and ''Alice Adams (novel), Alice Adams'' (1921). He is one of only four novelists to w ...

(whose '' The Gentleman from Indiana'' she described as having been "sent by God Almighty"),All In The Day's Work: An Autobiography
by

, p. 198; published 1939 by

Macmillan Publishers Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd in the United Kingdom and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC in the United States) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be on ...

; via

and William Sidney Porter, from whom she bought the first story under the pseudonym "

O. Henry William Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862 – June 5, 1910), better known by his pen name O. Henry, was an American writer known primarily for his short stories, though he also wrote poetry and non-fiction. His works include "The Gift of the Ma ...

Influence on Cather

Roseboro' has been credited with having enabled the success of Willa Cather's novel ''

My Ántonia ''My Ántonia'' ( ) is a novel published in 1918 by American writer Willa Cather. The novel tells the stories of an orphaned boy from Virginia, Jim Burden, and the elder daughter in a family of Bohemian immigrants, Ántonia Shimerda, who are ...

'' by suggesting, after having read an earlier version of the manuscript, that Cather rewrite it with Jim Burden as the viewpoint character. Literary scholar Merrill Skaggs identified Roseboro' as Willa Cather's probable inspiration for Myra Henshawe, protagonist of Cather's 1926 novel ''

My Mortal Enemy ''My Mortal Enemy'' is the eighth novel by American author Willa Cather. It was first published in 1926. Plot summary Myra Henshawe and her husband Oswald return to their fictional hometown of Parthia, Illinois, to visit their relatives. Nellie ...

'', and posited that although Cather said the inspiration for Henshawe had died in 1911, this was a reference to Roseboro' having left ''McClure's'' in that year. Similarly, literary scholar

Elizabeth Ammons Elizabeth Ammons is professor emerita at Tufts University. She was previously the Harriet B. Fay Professor of Literature at Tufts University. Early life and education Ammons attended University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The Universi ...

has speculated that Roseboro's 1907 short story "The Mistaken Man" "provided the spark for" Cather's 1912 novel '' Alexander's Bridge''.The Engineer as Cultural Hero and Willa Cather's First Novel, Alexander's Bridge
by

, in ''American Quarterly'', Vol. 38, No. 5 (Winter, 1986), pp. 746-760

Writing

Roseboro' continued writing her own fiction even after becoming an editor, including the novels ''The Joyous Heart'' (1903) and ''Storms of Youth'' (1920), and the short story collections ''Old Ways and New'' (1892) and ''Players and Vagabonds'' (1904).

Notes

References

External links

The Consecrated Eminence
��an online article with images from the Gertrude Hall Brownell Collection of Viola Roseboro' Correspondence at Amherst College.
Gertrude Hall Brownell Collection of Viola Roseboro' Correspondence
at the Amherst College Archives & Special Collections {{DEFAULTSORT:Roseboro, Viola 1857 births 1945 deaths American women editors American literary editors People from Pulaski, Tennessee