Ellen Olney Kirk

Ellen Warner Olney Kirk
Born(1842-11-06)November 6, 1842
Southington, Connecticut, United States
DiedNovember 20, 1928(1928-11-20) (aged 86)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
OccupationNovelist
NationalityAmerican
SpouseJohn Foster Kirk (1879–death)
Relatives
Signature

Ellen Warner Olney Kirk (November 6, 1842 – November 29, 1928) was an American novelist. Her novels tended to have romance plots set in New York or Philadelphia.

Early life

Kirk was born in Southington, Connecticut on November 6, 1842, the daughter of geographer and educator Jesse Olney and Elizabeth Barnes Olney.[1] Her uncle was publisher Alfred Smith Barnes.[2]

Career

Although Kirk wrote as a young woman, she did not publish her first novel until age 34.[3]

Contemporary reviewers considered her work somewhat old-fashioned, especially after the turn into the twentieth century, but some were charmed by the familiar plots and the absence of overt social commentary.[4] Her 1898 Christmas book for young readers, Dorothy Deane: A Children's Story, was illustrated by Philadelphia artist Sarah Stilwell Weber.[5]

Personal life

Ellen Warner Olney married author, editor, and librarian John Foster Kirk in 1879,[2] as his second wife. She was widowed when he died in 1904.[6] She died at her home in Philadelphia on November 29, 1928, aged 86 years.[1][7]

Publications

As Ellen Olney Kirk

  • His Heart's Desire (1878)
  • Sons and Daughters (1887)[8]
  • Queen Money (1888)
  • A Daughter of Eve (1889)
  • Walford (1890)
  • Ciphers (1891)
  • The Story of Lawrence Garthe (1894)[9]
  • Revolt of a Daughter (1897)[10]
  • Dorothy and her Friends (1899)[11]
  • A Remedy for Love (1902)[12]
  • Good-bye, Proud World (1903)[13]
  • Marcia (1907).[14]

As Henry Hayes

  • Love in Idleness (serialized 1876-1877)
  • The Story of Margaret Kent (1886)

References

  1. ^ a b "Kirk, Ellen Warner (Olney)". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Leonard, John W., ed. (1903). Who's Who in America: 1903-1905. Chicago, Illinois: A. N. Marquis & Company. p. 844.
  3. ^ Marshall, Mary (November 6, 1915). "Ellen Warner Olney's birthday". The Washington Herald. p. 10. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  4. ^ ""Old Time Love Story" (1902)". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. June 3, 1902. p. 7. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  5. ^ Kirk, Ellen Olney (1898). Dorothy Deane : a children's story. University of California Libraries. Boston ; New York : Houghton, Mifflin and company.
  6. ^ "Boston Evening Transcript - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  7. ^ "Kirk". The Philadelphia Inquirer. November 30, 1928. p. 26. Retrieved April 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Kirk, Ellen Olney (1887). Sons and Daughters. New York Public Library. Ticknor and Company.
  9. ^ Kirk, Ellen Warner (Olney); Armstrong, Margaret (1894). The story of Lawrence Garthe. Boston, New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company.
  10. ^ Kirk, Ellen Olney (1897). The revolt of a daughter. Boston, New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company.
  11. ^ Kirk, Ellen Warner (1899). Dorothy and Her Friends. New York Public Library. Houghton, Mifflin andcompany; Cambridge, TheRiverside press.
  12. ^ Kirk, Ellen Olney (1902). A Remedy for Love. Houghton, Mifflin.
  13. ^ Wheeler, Edward Jewitt; Funk, Isaac Kaufman; Woods, William Seaver; Funk, Wilfred John; Draper, Arthur Stimson (1903). The Literary Digest. Funk & Wagnalls.
  14. ^ "Boston Notes: Ellen Olney Kirk's New Novel" (PDF). The New York Times. March 9, 1907. Retrieved May 9, 2023.