Clara Louise Burnham | |
|---|---|
 Burnham in 1893, as depicted in A Woman of the Century | |
| Born | Clara Louise Root May 25, 1854 Newton, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | June 20, 1927 (aged 73) Casco Bay, Bailey Island, Maine, U.S. |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Language | English |
| Citizenship | American |
| Relatives | George Frederick Root (father) |
Clara Louise Burnham (née, Root; May 25, 1854 – June 20, 1927) was an American novelist. After the success of No Gentlemen (1881), other books followed, including A Sane Lunatic (1882), Dearly Bought (1884), Next Door (1886), Young Maids and Old (1888), The Mistress of Beech Knoll (1890), and Miss Bagg's Secretary (1892). The daughter of George Frederick Root, she wrote the text for several his most successful cantatas. The 1923 film, A Chapter in Her Life is based on Burnham's 1903 novel Jewel: A Chapter in Her Life. Born in Massachusetts, she died at the family home in Maine in 1927.
Clara Louise Root was born in Newton, Massachusetts, May 25, 1854. She was one of six children, and the oldest daughter of Dr. George Frederick Root, the musical composer, and the former Mary Woodman.[1] Her father, becoming the senior partner of the Chicago firm of Root & Cady, removed with his family to that city when Burnham was very young, and Chicago was her home thereafter. A return for several summers to the old homestead in North Reading, Massachusetts, together with the memory of the first years of her life, gave her an acquaintance with New England dialect and character, which she used later in her work. As a girl, she chiefly pursued music.[2]
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Burnham married while she was still very young. Shortly after her marriage, a brother, who enjoyed reading her letters, urged her to write a story. The brother persisted for months, and at last, in order to show him the absurdity of his request, she began writing. To Burnham's surprise, her attitude soon changed. She wrote two novelettes and paid to have them critiqued by the reader of a publishing house, keeping her identity unknown. The response was unfavorable, the reader going so far as to say that, if the author were of middle age, she would better abandon all hope of success as a writer. Burnham, not being "of middle age," was as reluctant to stop writing as she had previously been to take it up. Recalling her lifelong ability for rhyming, she wrote some poems for children, which were accepted and published by Wide Awake, and that success fixed her determination.[2][3]
She wrote No Gentlemen (Chicago, 1881) and offered it to a Chicago publisher. He examined it, said it would be an unsafe first book, and advised her to go home and write another. The author's father, who until that time had not regarded her work seriously, liked No Gentlemen and believed in it. Through his interest, the book immediately found a publisher, and its success was instantaneous. Other books followed including, A Sane Lunatic (Chicago, 1882), Dearly Bought (Chicago, 1884), Next Door (Boston, 1886), Young Maids and Old (Boston, 1888), The Mistress of Beech Knoll (Boston, 1890), and Miss Bagg's Secretary (Boston, 1892). Besides her novels, Burnham wrote the text for several of Root's most successful cantatas, and contributed many poems and stories to The Youth's Companion, St. Nicholas Magazine, and Wide Awake.[2][3] The 1923 film, A Chapter in Her Life is based on Burnham's novel Jewel: A Chapter in Her Life.
Burnham had no children and she resided with her father. In addition to her writing, she was a cultured pianist. In religion, she affiliated with Christian Science.[2]
Clara Louise Burnham died at the family home at Casco Bay, Bailey Island, Maine, June 20, 1927.[1]
