User:Kochlaura/sandbox/Alice Turner Curtis

Alice Turner Curtis

Alice Turner Curtis was an American author best known for the Little Maid series of children’s historical fiction.

Alice Turner Curtis was born in Sullivan, Maine in 1861 to John Vinal Turner and Susan Speare Turner. Little is known about her childhood, except that she attended public schools in Maine and Massachusetts. On May 20, 1895, she married Irving Curtis in Boston’s Old South Church. Later, she published several of her books under the name “Mrs. Irving Curtis.”

Throughout much of her adult life, Curtis supported herself with her writing. Between 1913 and (YEAR), she wrote the Little Maid books, a series of historical stories aimed towards young girls. The books took place during the American Revolution, and emphasized the patriotic contributions of colonial girls. Curtis also wrote the Frontier Girl series, the Grandpa’s Little Girls series, and several standalone books, including A Challenge to Adventure (1919) and the ONE ABOUT COTTON. Curtis herself was a descendant of NAME, which could account for her interest in the American Revolution.

Not much is known about Curtis’ personal life. She was a member of the Tea Party Chapter of the DAR and the New England Women’s Club in Boston, as well as a “salaried contributor to the Youth’s Companion.” She listed “reading, walking, housekeeping” as her recreations (SOURCE?). She lived for a time in Newburyport, MA and is thought to have been a supporter of women’s suffrage. The date of Irving Curtis’ death is unknown, and it appears unlikely that the couple had any children. ADD MORE FROM OBIT HERE

Curtis died of a heart attack on July 10, 1958 at the age of 97. She is buried in Newton Cemetery.