American novelist
Louise Perkins Fitzhugh (October 5, 1928 – November 19, 1974) was an American writer and illustrator of children's books. Fitzhugh is best known for her 1964 novel Harriet the Spy, a fiction work about an adolescent girl's predisposition with a journal covering the foibles of her friends, her classmates, and the strangers she is captivated by. The novel was later adapted into a live action film in 1996. The sequel novel, The Long Secret, was published in 1965, and its follow-up book, Sport, was published posthumously in 1979. Fitzhugh also wrote Nobody's Family Is Going to Change, which was later adapted into a play.
Fitzhugh died at age 46 from a brain aneurysm on November 19, 1974.
Biography
Early life
Louise Fitzhugh was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on October 5, 1928. Her wealthy parents divorced when she was an infant, and her father, Millsaps Fitzhugh, gained custody; she lived with him in the South. She attended Miss Hutchison's School and three different universities. She lived in Washington, D.C.; France; and Italy.[1]
She attended Bard College where she became involved in politics and antiracism. She studied art in Italy and France, and continued her studies at the Art Students League and the Cooper Union. She lived most of her adult life in New York City and had houses in both Long Island and Bridgewater, Connecticut.[1]
Career
Fitzhugh was the illustrator of the 1961 children's book Suzuki Beane, a parody of Eloise; while Eloise lived in the Plaza, Suzuki was the daughter of beatnik parents and slept on a mattress on the floor of a Bleecker Street pad in Greenwich Village. Fitzhugh worked closely with author Sandra Scoppettone to produce Suzuki Beane, which incorporated typewriter font and line drawings in an original way. Although a parody of both Eloise and beatnik conceit, the book sprang to life as a genuine work of literature. Today, it is much sought-after on used-book websites.
Fitzhugh's best-known book was Harriet the Spy, published in 1964 to some controversy, since so many characters were far from admirable.[2] It has since become a classic.[3] According to her New York Times obituary, published November 21, 1974: "The book helped introduce a new realism to children's fiction and has been widely imitated".[4] Harriet is the daughter of affluent New Yorkers who leave her in the care of her nanny, Ole Golly, in their Manhattan townhouse. She wrote two other books in the same universe, The Long Secret and Sport.
Fitzhugh was a lesbian. "Although Harriet's sexuality is never touched on in the book, her boy's clothes and bravado sent a message to some kids who felt different and didn't know why."[5] Another young adult manuscript, Amelia, concerned two girls falling in love. This manuscript was not published and was later lost.[6]
Fitzhugh illustrated many of her books and had works exhibited in Banfer Gallery, New York, in 1963, among many other galleries.[citation needed]
Her 1974 novel Nobody's Family Is Going to Change was adapted into the 1983 Tony-nominated musical The Tap Dance Kid.[7]
Death
Fitzhugh died on November 19, 1974, at a New Milford, Connecticut, hospital of a brain aneurysm, eight days before the publication of Nobody's Family Is Going to Change. Her obituary was published in The New York Times.[4]
