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Ellen Olney Kirk

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Ellen Warner Olney Kirk
Born(1842-11-06)November 6, 1842
Southington, Connecticut, United States
DiedNovember 20, 1928(1928-11-20) (aged 86)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
OccupationNovelist
NationalityAmerican
SpouseJohn Foster Kirk (1879–death)
Relatives
Signature

Ellen Warner Olney Kirk (November 6, 1842 – November 29, 1928) was an American novelist. Her novels tended to have romance plots set in New York or Philadelphia.

Early life

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Kirk was born in Southington, Connecticut on November 6, 1842, the daughter of geographer and educator Jesse Olney and Elizabeth Barnes Olney.[1] Her uncle was publisher Alfred Smith Barnes.[2]

Career

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Although Kirk wrote as a young woman, she did not publish her first novel until age 34.[3]

Contemporary reviewers considered her work somewhat old-fashioned, especially after the turn into the twentieth century, but some were charmed by the familiar plots and the absence of overt social commentary.[4] Her 1898 Christmas book for young readers, Dorothy Deane: A Children's Story, was illustrated by Philadelphia artist Sarah Stilwell Weber.[5]

Personal life

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Ellen Warner Olney married author, editor, and librarian John Foster Kirk in 1879,[2] as his second wife. She was widowed when he died in 1904.[6] She died at her home in Philadelphia on November 29, 1928, aged 86 years.[1][7]

Publications

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As Ellen Olney Kirk

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  • His Heart's Desire (1878)
  • Sons and Daughters (1887)[8]
  • Queen Money (1888)
  • A Daughter of Eve (1889)
  • Walford (1890)
  • Ciphers (1891)
  • The Story of Lawrence Garthe (1894)[9]
  • Revolt of a Daughter (1897)[10]
  • Dorothy and her Friends (1899)[11]
  • A Remedy for Love (1902)[12]
  • Good-bye, Proud World (1903)[13]
  • Marcia (1907).[14]

As Henry Hayes

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  • Love in Idleness (serialized 1876-1877)
  • The Story of Margaret Kent (1886)

References

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  1. ^ a b "Kirk, Ellen Warner (Olney)". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Leonard, John W., ed. (1903). Who's Who in America: 1903-1905. Chicago, Illinois: A. N. Marquis & Company. p. 844.
  3. ^ Marshall, Mary (November 6, 1915). "Ellen Warner Olney's birthday". The Washington Herald. p. 10. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  4. ^ ""Old Time Love Story" (1902)". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. June 3, 1902. p. 7. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  5. ^ Kirk, Ellen Olney (1898). Dorothy Deane : a children's story. University of California Libraries. Boston ; New York : Houghton, Mifflin and company.
  6. ^ "Boston Evening Transcript - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  7. ^ "Kirk". The Philadelphia Inquirer. November 30, 1928. p. 26. Retrieved April 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Kirk, Ellen Olney (1887). Sons and Daughters. New York Public Library. Ticknor and Company.
  9. ^ Kirk, Ellen Warner (Olney); Armstrong, Margaret (1894). The story of Lawrence Garthe. Boston, New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company.
  10. ^ Kirk, Ellen Olney (1897). The revolt of a daughter. Boston, New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company.
  11. ^ Kirk, Ellen Warner (1899). Dorothy and Her Friends. New York Public Library. Houghton, Mifflin andcompany; Cambridge, TheRiverside press.
  12. ^ Kirk, Ellen Olney (1902). A Remedy for Love. Houghton, Mifflin.
  13. ^ Wheeler, Edward Jewitt; Funk, Isaac Kaufman; Woods, William Seaver; Funk, Wilfred John; Draper, Arthur Stimson (1903). The Literary Digest. Funk & Wagnalls.
  14. ^ "Boston Notes: Ellen Olney Kirk's New Novel" (PDF). The New York Times. March 9, 1907. Retrieved May 9, 2023.