Mary Hunter Austin (September 9, 1868 – August 13, 1934) was an American writer. One of the early

nature writer Nature writing is nonfiction or fiction prose or poetry about the natural environment. Nature writing encompasses a wide variety of works, ranging from those that place primary emphasis on natural history facts (such as field guides) to those in ...

s of the

American Southwest The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado ...

, her classic ''

The Land of Little Rain ''The Land of Little Rain'' is a book written by American writer Mary Hunter Austin.Great Basin Wildflowers, Laird R. Blackwell, 2006, Morris Book Publishing LLC., First published in 1903, it contains a series of interrelated lyrical essays ab ...

'' (1903) describes the fauna, flora, and people – as well as evoking the mysticism and spirituality – of the region between the High Sierra and the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily ...

southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...

Early years and education

Graduation photograph of American author Mary Hunter Austin, 1888

Mary Hunter Austin was born on September 9, 1868, in

Carlinville, Illinois Carlinville is a city and the county seat of Macoupin County, Illinois, United States. It is also the home of Blackburn College, a small college affiliated with the Presbyterian church, and the former home of Prairie Farms Dairy. As of the 2020 ...

(the fourth of six children) to Susannah (née Graham) and George Hunter. She graduated from Blackburn College in 1888. Her family moved to California in the same year and established a homestead in the

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven ...

Career

She married Stafford Wallace Austin on May 18, 1891, in

Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...

. He was from Hawaii and a graduate of the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...

. For 17 years, Austin made a special study of the lives of the

indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

of the

. Her publications set forth the intimate knowledge she thus acquired. She was a prolific novelist, poet, critic, and playwright, as well as an early

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

and defender of Native American and Spanish-American rights. Austin is best known for her tribute to the deserts of California, ''The Land of Little Rain'' (1903). Her play, ''

The Arrow Maker ''The Arrow Maker'' is a play by Mary Hunter Austin meant to reflect American Indian life, especially of the Paiutes, in the Sierra Nevada of the United States. Motivation and history It was first presented at the New Theatre in New York City ...

'', dealing with Indian life, was produced at the New Theatre, (

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

) in 1911, the same year she published a rhapsodic tribute to her acquaintance H. G. Wells as a producer of "informing, vitalizing, indispensable books" in the ''

American Magazine ''The American Magazine'' was a periodical publication founded in June 1906, a continuation of failed publications purchased a few years earlier from publishing mogul Miriam Leslie. It succeeded ''Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly'' (1876–1904), ' ...

''. Austin and her husband were involved in the local California Water Wars, after which the water of Owens Valley eventually was drained to supply Los Angeles. When their battle was lost, he moved to

Death Valley, California Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. During summer, it is the hottest place on Earth. Death Valley's Badwater Basin is the point of lowest elevation in North A ...

. She moved to the art colony at

Carmel-by-the-Sea, California Carmel-by-the-Sea (), often simply called Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and incorporated on October 31, 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel is known for its natural scenery and r ...

about 1907. An online facsimile of the entire text of Vol. 1 is posted on the Traditional Fine Arts Organization website (). There Austin was part of the cultural circle that included

Jack London John Griffith Chaney (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 to ...

Ambrose Bierce Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 – ) was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and American Civil War veteran. His book ''The Devil's Dictionary'' was named as one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by t ...

Harry Leon Wilson Harry Leon Wilson (May 1, 1867 – June 28, 1939) was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his novels ''Ruggles of Red Gap'' and '' Merton of the Movies''. Another of his works, ''Bunker Bean'', helped popularize the term "flapper". ...

George Sterling George Sterling (December 1, 1869 – November 17, 1926) was an American writer based in the San Francisco, California Bay Area and Carmel-by-the-Sea. He was considered a prominent poet and playwright and proponent of Bohemianism during the fi ...

, Nora May French,

Arnold Genthe Arnold Genthe (8 January 1869 – 9 August 1942) was a German-American photographer, best known for his photographs of San Francisco's Chinatown, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and his portraits of noted people, from politicians and sociali ...

, James Hopper,

Alice MacGowan Alice L. MacGowan (December 10, 1858 – March 10, 1947) was an American writer. Early years She was born in Perrysburg, Ohio, the daughter of John Encil MacGowan and Malvina Marie Johnson. The family moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where her ...

Gelett Burgess Frank Gelett Burgess (January 30, 1866 – September 18, 1951) was an American artist, art critic, poet, author and humorist. An important figure in the San Francisco Bay Area literary renaissance of the 1890s, particularly through his iconoclas ...

Sinclair Lewis Harry Sinclair Lewis (February 7, 1885 – January 10, 1951) was an American writer and playwright. In 1930, he became the first writer from the United States (and the first from the Americas) to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, which was ...

, and

Xavier Martinez Xavier or Xabier may refer to: Place * Xavier, Spain People * Xavier (surname) * Xavier (given name) * Francis Xavier (1506–1552), Catholic saint ** St. Francis Xavier (disambiguation) * St. Xavier (disambiguation) * Xavier (footballer, born ...

. She was one of the founders of the local

Forest Theater The Forest Theater is an historic amphitheater in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. Founded in 1910, it is one of the oldest outdoor theaters west of the Rockies. Actor/director Herbert Heron is generally cited as the founder and driving force, and ...

, where in 1913 she premiered and directed her three-act play ''Fire.'' In July 1914, she joined

William Merritt Chase William Merritt Chase (November 1, 1849October 25, 1916) was an American painter, known as an exponent of Impressionism and as a teacher. He is also responsible for establishing the Chase School, which later would become Parsons School of Design. ...

, the distinguished New York painter who was teaching his last summer class in Carmel, at several society "teas" and privately in his studio, where he finished her portrait. The well-known artist

Jennie V. Cannon Jennie Amelia Vennerström Cannon, also known as Jennie Vennerstrom Cannon (1869–1952), was an American artist who spent most of her career in California but gained national recognition. She received the first master's degree from the Art Depa ...

reported that he began the painting as a class demonstration after Austin claimed that two of her portraits, which were executed by famous artists in the Latin Quarter of Paris, had already been accepted to the Salon. Apparently, Chase was not deterred by Austin's "pushiness and claims to extra-sensory perceptions", but was more interested in her appointment as director of East Coast publicity for San Francisco's Panama-Pacific International Exposition. On July 25, 1914, Chase attended her Indian melodrama in the

, ''The Arrow Maker'', and confessed to Cannon that he found the play dreary. Apparently, Dr. Daniel MacDougal, head of the local Carnegie Institute, paid for most of her production costs, because of his not-so-secret love affair with the writer. When one of Chase's students, Helena Wood Smith, was brutally murdered by her Japanese lover, Austin joined the mob who disparaged local authorities for their incompetence. After 1914 her visits to Carmel were relatively brief. After visiting Santa Fe in 1918, Austin helped establish The Santa Fe Little Theatre (still operating today as The Santa Fe Playhouse) and directed the group's first production held February 14, 1919, at the art museum's St. Francis Auditorium. Austin also was active in preserving the local culture of New Mexico, establishing the Spanish Colonial Arts Society in 1925 with artist Frank Applegate. In 1929, while living in New Mexico, Austin co-authored a book with photographer

Ansel Adams Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American landscape photographer and environmentalist known for his Monochrome photography, black-and-white images of the American West. He helped found Group f/64, an association ...

. Published a year later, the book, ''

Taos Pueblo Taos Pueblo (or Pueblo de Taos) is an ancient pueblo belonging to a Taos-speaking (Tiwa) Native American tribe of Puebloan people. It lies about north of the modern city of Taos, New Mexico. The pueblos are considered to be one of the oldest ...

'', was printed in a limited edition of only 108 copies. It now is quite rare because, rather than reproductions, it included photographs made by Adams. Her home in Santa Fe, at 439 Camino del Monte Sol, is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

as a contributing building in the

Camino del Monte Sol Historic District The Camino del Monte Sol Historic District, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is a historic district which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. The listing included 106 contributing buildings. It includes some works by archit ...

. With

Death and legacy

Austin died August 13, 1934, in Santa Fe.

Mount Mary Austin Mount Mary Austin is a mountain east of the Sierra Crest and west of Independence, California. It is named in honor of Mary Hunter Austin, the author of '' The Land of Little Rain'' and natural historian who lived in Independence. The mountain ...

, in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primar ...

, was named in her honor. It is located 8.5 miles west of her long time home in

Independence, California Independence is a census-designated place in Inyo County, California. Independence is located south-southeast of Bishop, at an elevation of 3930 feet (1198 m). It is the county seat of Inyo County, California. The population of this census-de ...

. A biography was published in 1939. Mary Austin Home

The Austin home in Independence, California, designed and built by the couple, became a California Historical Landmark. A

teleplay A teleplay is a screenplay or script used in the production of a scripted television program or series. In general usage, the term is most commonly seen in reference to a standalone production, such as a television film, a television play, or a ...

of ''The Land of Little Rain'' was written by Doris Baizley and presented on ''

American Playhouse ''American Playhouse'' is an American anthology television series periodically broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Overview It premiered on January 12, 1982, with ''The Shady Hill Kidnapping'', written and narrated by John Cheever an ...

'' in 1989; it starred

Helen Hunt Helen Elizabeth Hunt (born June 15, 1963) is an American actress and director. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, four Primetime Emmy Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. Hunt rose to fame portraying Ja ...

. A 1950 edition of ''The Land of Little Rain'' and a 1977 edition of ''Taos Pueblo'' each included photographs by Ansel Adams. * The California Historical Landmark reads: :: ''CHL No. 229 Austin Home - Inyo NO. 229 MARY AUSTIN'S HOME - Mary Austin, author of The Land of Little Rain and other volumes that picture the beauty of Owens Valley, lived in Independence. "But if ever you come beyond the borders as far as the town that lies in a hill dimple at the foot of Kearsarge, never leave it until you have knocked at the door of the brown house under the willow-tree at the end of the village street, and there you shall have such news of the land, of its trails and what is astir in them, as one lover of it can give to another ..." excerpt from The Land of Little Rain.''

Selected works

* ''

'' (1903), an account of the California Desert.
full-text edition (Internet Archive)
* '' The Basket Woman'' (1904), a book of Indian myths and fanciful tales for children. * ''Isidro (book)'' (1905), a romance of Mission days. * '' The Flock'' (1906), an account of the

shepherd A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' ' herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations, ...

industry of California. * '' Santa Lucia'' (1908), a novel. * '' Lost Borders, the people of the desert'' (1909). * '' The Arrow Maker – A Drama in Three Acts'' (1911). From 1921 through 1930 ''Fire'' and ''The Arrow Maker'' were produced outdoors in

Tahquitz Canyon Tahquitz Canyon (, sometimes ) is located in Palm Springs, California on a section of the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation. The canyon descends from the Riverside County San Jacinto Mountains. It was continually inhabited for at least 5,000 years ...

near

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by lan ...

. See: * '' A Woman of Genius'' (1912). * ''Fire: a drama in three acts'' (1914)Performed as an outdoor pageant at

in 1921. * '' The Ford'' (1917). * '' The Trail Book'' (1918). * 'The Young Woman Citizen'' (1918). * '' Outland'' (1919). * '' No. 26 Jayne Street'' (1920). * '' The American Rhythm'' (1923). * '' The Land of Journeys' Ending'' (1924). * '' Everyman's Genius'' (1925). * '' Lands of the Sun'' (1927). * ''

'' (1930). * '' Experiences Facing Death'' (1931). * '' Starry Adventure'' (1931). * '' Earth Horizon'' (1932), autobiography. * ''Non-English Writings II: Aboriginal'' The Cambridge History of American Literature Volume III Chapter XXXII pp. 610–634 (1933) * '' Can Prayer Be Answered?'' (1934). * '' One-Smoke Stories'' (1934). * '' One Hundred Miles on Horseback'' (1887, 1963) (first published essay 1887, re-published posthumously). * '' Cactus Thorn'' (1927, 1988) (written ca. 1927, the novella was published posthumously).

References

External links