Lucy Fitch Perkins (1865-1938)

 

 Early Seeding of The Love of Writing

As a child, I could hardly wait to get to the Reading Public Library to get another twins book by Lucy Fitch Perkins. 

Little did I know that she attended the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts just down the street from where I would live as an adult on Wigglesworth Street. My house was part of the Mission Hill Triangle built in 1872. She must have walked by where I would live.

Decades, yes, even more than half a century later, I'd still remember her books. Each were about twins living in different countries and times. 

She whetted my interest in Greek history in the Spartan Twins. I was also intriguided by the American Revolution. Because of her books, my interest was not, is not limited to leaders, war dates, etc. but the lives of ordinary people, like what they ate, wore, did in their free time, problems, society's rules, although I didn't label the later back then.

Perkins produced about one book a year. I learned about other countries, including my shock at foot binding in China. It started a life long desire, often fulfilled, to visit different places in the world.

As a future writer, I wasn't alone. Others were influenced by her. Historian Barbara Tuchman (another favorite of mine) cited her as a beloved childhood author. I just learned that Perkins tried to interview people who had lived in the countries she wrote about, which makes me treasure the memories of curling up with one of her books, even better.

She started to write to supplement family income after the panic of 1893. Once her husband became chief architect for the Chicago Board of Education in Chicago, writing was no longer necessary for income but because she wanted to.

Her first major book, The Dutch Twins, was encouraged  by publisher Edwin Osgood Grover and was the start of a 26 book series. They sold over two million copies, a result that most writers would love and even more amazing for the time she wrote the books.

Many of her books are still available, some on Kindle. Tech meets time travel.  I plan to buy a couple. I couldn't find the biography her daughter wrote. 

Note: In writing this blog, I also feel sorry for the book banning that has become so popular today. Check my website at https://dlnelsonwriter.com.