Description
Book Synopsis Winifred Sanford is generally regarded by critics as one of the best and most important early twentieth-century Texas women writers, despite publishing only a handful of short stories before slipping into relative obscurity. First championed by her mentor, H. L. Mencken, and published in his magazine, The American Mercury, many of Sanford’s stories were set during the Texas oil boom of the 1920s and 1930s and offer a unique perspective on life in the boomtowns during that period. Four of her stories were included in The Best American Short Stories of 1926.
Questioning the sudden end to Sanford’s writing career, Wiesepape, a leading literary historian of Texas women writers, delved into the author’s previously unexamined private papers and emerged with an insightful and revealing study that sheds light on both Sanford’s abbreviated career and the domestic lives of women at the time. The first in-depth account of Sanford’s life and
Trade Review
Winifred Sanford: The Life and Times of a Texas Writer is a well-researched and thorough account of Sanford’s life…If you are part of the ever-growing community of scholars who can’t help but puzzle over the shortage of women writers, especially Texas women writers, then this biography may be for you. * Texas Books in Review *
Wiesepape’s methodology in bridging Sanford’s private and public life proves to be highly effective, as she leaves few gaps in Sanford’s life unaccounted for. * Great Plains Quarterly *
Table of Contents
AcknowledgementsIntroductionChapter One: The Story BeginsChapter Two: A Wonderful TimeChapter Three: Keeping HouseChapter Four: Difficult AdjustmentsChapter Five: The American Mercury AdventureChapter Six: Plans, Pressures, and ExpectationsChapter Seven: Unexpected InterruptionsChapter Eight: Pieces of the PuzzleChapter Nine: One Story Ends and Another BeginsConclusionA List of Winifred Sanford’s PublicationsA List of Stories and Novels That Winifred Sanford Wrote but Never PublishedAppendix A: Letters Exchanged Between Winifred Sanford and the Editors of The American MercuryAppendix B: Lagniappe: Two Unpublished Stories by Winifred SanfordAppendix C: Two Nonfiction Articles for WritersBibliography
