Ramsey Library

CONSTANCE FENIMORE WOOLSON
(5 March 1840 - 24 January 1894)
Constance Fenimore Woolson was born in Claremont, New Hampshire, but the family moved shortly to Cleveland, Ohio. In Cleveland, Constance attended the Cleveland Female Seminary in the 1850's and afterwards Madame Chegaray's School in New York City, later known as Hunter College. A precocious girl, she excelled at writing and began to publish in 1870 or 1871. Until her death she was a traveler. Rarely staying in one place for any length of time, she lived for a time in the Carolinas, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, and Ohio. From 1880 until her death she also lived in various European cities, including Venice, Florence, Rome, London, Warwickshire, Cheltenham, Oxford, cities in Switzerland and in the Black Forest region of Germany. She died in Venice under suspicious circumstances, apparently falling from a balcony in the canal city.

 
Benedict, Clare. Voices Out of the Past. Vol. 1 of Five Generations, 1785-1923: Being Scattered Chapters from the History of the Cooper, Pomeroy, Woolson and Benedict Families, with Extracts from Their Letters and Journals, as Well as Articles and Poems by Constance Fenimore Woolson. 3 vols. Ed. Benedict. London: Ellis, 1929.

Dean, Sharon L. Constance Fenimore Woolson: Homeward Bound. Knoxville, TN: University of Tennessee Press, 1995.

Torsney, Cheryl B. Constance Fenimore Woolson: the Grief of Artistry. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1989.

Moore, Rayburn S. Constance Fenimore Woolson. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1963

American Women Writers : A Critical Reference Guide From Colonial Times To The Present , 1979-82 (Green Library Ref. PS147.A4) v.1-4, supplement v.5. This comprehensive reference work includes 1000 American women writers from Colonial time to the present. Each author receives a critical assessment, a complete list of works, a selected list of criticism, and biographical information. The final volume includes an index.

Oxford Companion to Women's Writing in the United States (Green Library Ref. PS147.094 1995) more than 400 biographies of American women authors writing in a variety of genres and in a variety of fields. Index, timelines, and bibliography are included.

American Women Writers: Bibliographic Essays   Bibliographic essays by various critics cover 24 major American women authors. Includes information on editions and manuscripts.

Notable American Women, 1607-1950: a Biographical Dictionary, 1971 v. 1-3 and Vol. 4. The Modern Period, 1980 provides long, scholarly articles on American women of various fields. Volume 4 covers women who died between 1951 and 1975.