While gathering information online about the novel “Spindrift,” which I reviewed a short time ago, I happened upon a fact that nearly made me drop my teeth. The author of that novel, Phyllis A. Whitney, is 103 years old and currently hard at work on her biography. It’s a rare treat to find someone who had reached that advanced age, and even more delightful to discover that they are still able to do the things they have loved doing throughout their lives. I decided then and there to do an author review on this remarkable woman.
As I read, I learned that she has written 76 books, three of which were textbooks. Over one hundred short stories bearing her name have been published, and she has written numerous magazine articles. More than 50 million of her books have been in print.
So, who is Phyllis A. Whitney?
She was born in Yokohama, Japan, while her father worked there for an export company. Interestingly, her middle name is “Ayame,” which is Japanese for iris. She lived in many locations throughout the Orient throughout her childhood and teen years, including not only Japan, but China and the Philippines. She did not come to live in the United States until her father’s death in 1918. These experiences in the Orient gave her later works a flair they might not have had otherwise.
Phyllis and her mother moved to Berkeley, California, and then to San Antonio, Texas. Her ambition at the time was to be a dancer, and she performed at Red Cross benefits, but she had also discovered her talent in writing and decided to make that her career instead.
After her mother’s premature death, Phyllis went to live with her aunt in Chicago and it is there that her writing began to blossom. She sold a short story to the Chicago Daily News, which would mark the beginning of many. She found a job working in the children’s room at the Chicago Public Library, and in 1925, married George A. Garner.
In 1941, she published her first book, called “A Place for Ann,” a young adult novel (which is currently being offered on Amazon for only $400.00.) In 1943 she broke into the adult market with “Red is for Murder” (which, at $999.00, makes the other book look like a steal.) With her foot firmly planted on both patches of ground, she was making a name for herself that would be remembered for years to come.
She and George unfortunately divorced. She was remarried to Lovell F. Jahnke, and in 1960, bragged a grand total of 25 books published. She taught writing at the local university and had been recognized as the Queen of the Gothic novel. “Thunder Heights,” the first novel she penned to fall into the Gothic genre, was published in 1960. (New and used starting at a penny! That I think I can afford!)
Whatever the topic and locale of her current work, Phyllis always made it a point to research the area exhaustively, and indeed, when you read one of her books, you can see the spot clearly in your mind, it is described that well. Her technique obviously works; she was awarded a lifetime achievement award from the Mystery Writers of America in 1988. She is known around the world by booklovers of every language as one of the very best in her chosen field.
Information for this article was found at:
Article about Phyllis A. Whitney
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