Elsie Lee

Elsie Lee (née Williams, January 24, 1912 – February 8, 1987) was an American author of over 35 fiction and non-fiction books.

Life

Elsie Williams was born in Brooklyn, New York to Helen (Bogert) and Samuel Byron Williams, Jr.[1] Samuel was a telephone engineer born in Ohio, who worked for Western Electric in New York City.[2] Helen was a housewife.[3] When Elsie was 13 years old a brother, David G. Williams, was born.[4]

Elsie began cooking at age 8, attended Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, PA from 1928-1932, and attended the Pratt Institute[5] from 1932-33.[6]

Elsie married Morton Lee on December 27, 1941. She was a member of the Society of Friends (Quakers), the Authors Guild of Authors League of America, and Mensa. Her interests included cats, cooking, music, bridge, two-pack solitaire games, word games, and jigsaw puzzles.[7]

Elsie worked as a librarian for Price, Waterhouse & Company 1937-1942; as an office manager for Reeves Laboratories 1942-1945; a librarian for the Gulf Oil Company 1947-1951; an executive secretary for Andrews, Clark & Buckley 1951-53 (all in New York City); and as a writer from 1945 until her death.[8] She mentions in Elsie Lee's Book of Simple Gourmet Cookery that she lived in Washington for six years, and Hollywood for three.[9]

Elsie began writing in the 1940s, selling her first stories to the Ladies Home Journal.[10] She described her writing this way: "I write fairy tales for grownups, principally women... I am better at characterizations than plots, and best with cats who are unanimously adored by my readers... I will not compromise on the quality of vocabulary and grammar in my books... it is a writer's responsibility to TEACH subtly through entertainment..."[11]

Elsie Williams Lee died February 8, 1987 at the age of 75 while living in New York City.[12] She was survived by her brother, David Williams, of Chevy Chase, MD. Her cremains were privately interred.[13]

Works

Fiction

∞Novelizations of a television show or screenplay

Non-fiction

References

  1. ↑ Contemporary Authors, Frances Carol Locher, Ed., Gale Research Company, Detroit, MI, Vol. 85-88, 1980, p.p. 339-340
  2. ↑ Ancestry.com U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc. 2005
  3. ↑ New York State Archives, Albany, NY, State Population Census Schedules, 1925; Census Place: Election District 14, Assembly District 10, Brooklyn, Kings, 15.
  4. ↑ 1930 Census Brooklyn, Kings County, NY; Roll: 1513; Page: 23B; Enumberation District: 92; Image: 706.0; FHL microfilm: 2341248
  5. ↑ Elsie Lee's Book of Simple Gourmet Cookery, by Elsie Lee, Arbor House, NY, 1971, pp. 7-8
  6. ↑ Contemporary Authors, Frances Carol Locher, Ed., Gale Research Company, Detroit, MI, Vol. 85-88, 1980, pp. 339-340
  7. ↑ Ibid.
  8. ↑ Ibid.
  9. ↑ Elsie Lee's Book of Simple Gourmet Cookery, by Elsie Lee, Arbor House, NY, 1971, p. 291
  10. ↑ Twentieth-Century Romance and Gothic Writers, James Vinson, Ed., Gale Research Company, Detroit, MI, 1982, pp. 426-428
  11. ↑ Ibid.
  12. ↑ Social Security Death Index on Ancestry.com, Provo, UT, USA; Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2011
  13. ↑ Obituary, New York Times, New York, NY, February 12, 1987, on Ancestry.com Historical Newspapers, Births, Marriage, & Death Announcements, 1851-2003 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA; Ancestry.com Operations Inc. 2006