| content | ||||||||||||
| Susan Arnold Elston Wallace | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | December 25, 1830 Crawfordsville, Indiana |
| Died | October 1, 1907 Crawfordsville, Indiana |
| Occupation | Writer |
Susan Arnold Elston Wallace (December 25, 1830–October 1, 1907) was an American author and poet.
Contents |
Biography
Susan Wallace was born in Crawfordsville, Indiana to Isaac C. and Maria E. Aiken Elston on December 30, 1830. She was educated in Crawfordsville and Poughkeepsie, New York.
She married Lew Wallace on May 6, 1852. They had one son, Henry, born February 17, 1853. At the time of their engagement, Lew was a struggling attorney, and Susan's father was not particularly certain that he would ever be successful. Ironically, Lew became the most celebrated American author of the 19th century following the publication of Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ in 1880. Susan, however, was published long before her husband with her very popular poem "The Patter of Little Feet".[1] She was published in over thirty magazines, newspapers, journals, and books of poetry in her life.
Additionally, Susan was a talented writer and musician, although she preferred to remain largely in the shadows as her husband's companion. In truth, and Lew frequently acknowledged this, Susan was his editor, reader, and critic. He attributed much of his success in writing to her criticism.
Lew was writing his Autobiography (1906) when he died in 1905. Susan, with assistance from Mary Hannah Krout, completed the Autobiography. She wrote, "And here the Autobiography ends. What follows must be a plain record of facts without attempt at polish or effect."[2]
Themes
Largely forgotten by modern readers, Susan's works focused on home, friends, travel, and Christianity.[3] Susan was, however, very interested in women's roles, especially after traveling with Lew to Turkey and the Middle East.
Books
- The Storied Sea (Boston: James R. Osgood and Company), 1883.
- Ginèvra; or, The Old Oak Chest, A Christmas Story (New York: Worthington Co.), 1887. [illustrated by Lew Wallace]
- The Land of the Pueblos (New York: John B. Alden), 1888. [with illustrations by Lew Wallace]
- The Repose in Egypt: A Medley (New York: John B. Alden), 1888.
- Along the Bosphorus and Other Sketches (Chicago: Rand, McNally & Co.), 1898.
- The City of the King: What the Child Jesus Saw and Heard (Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Co.), 1903.
Notes
References
- Dorothy Ritter Russo and Thelma Lois Sullivan, Bibliographical Studies of Seven Authors of Crawfordsville, Indiana (Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society), 1952.
- Joann Spragg, "Montgomery County Profiles: Susan Arnold Elston (1830-1907)", Montgomery County Historical Society [Newsletter], March 2008. See it here.
- Lew Wallace, An Autobiography (New York: Harper & Brothers), 1906.
External links
- General Lew Wallace Study and Museum
- Find-A-Grave profile for Susan Wallace
- Brief biography and bibliography
