Lives in Letters A New England Family 18702000 Caroline H Williams 9781523840151 Books
Download As PDF : Lives in Letters A New England Family 18702000 Caroline H Williams 9781523840151 Books
The eight women in this book, five Wesselhoeft sisters and three daughters, are brought to life through letters those inherited and those (1891-l941) discovered in a goat's shed in a Berlin suburb. The sisters, all born in the 1870's in Cambridge, Massachusetts, were shaped by education, talent, travel, and the suffrage movement. They embodied "the New Woman" of the early Twentieth Century. They died in California in the 1960's, to which they had come by various paths. Ferdie by Communism; Gertrude, by marriage, which led to a career in film; Mary, by painting; Amy, by the aftermath of World Wars in Europe, and Eleanor, as an actress. In the next generation, the daughters from 1925 onwards, discovered and explored the wider world Eleanor Hoffmann in Morocco, Trudy Bliss in England and Eleanor von Erdberg in the far East. In these stories, expectations sometimes clashed with the realities as experienced, but each woman determined the course of her own life.
Lives in Letters A New England Family 18702000 Caroline H Williams 9781523840151 Books
As an historian whose research paralleled Ms. Williams' research with respect to Mary Fraser Wesselhoeft (1873-1971), I am not only deeply indebted to her for sharing her research, but am in awe of her work on the history of the Wesselhoeft family. Her research and insights are fascinating and bring to the reader the important contributions of this New England family.From the start, as she introduces us to the characters of her narrative, we become aware of the distinguished standing of her ancestors. The patriarch in Germany owned a printing company and counted Goethe as both a client and a friend. Patients of Mary's father, Walter Wesselhoeft, included many of the great New England poets and authors: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Julia Ward Howe. Walter served as the inspiration for the character " Westervelt" in The Blithedale Romance, by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
As an artist living and working in Paris and Berlin, Mary traveled in rarified company, working with Matisse, and the important German glassmaker, Gottfried Heinersdorff (1883-1941), and counting Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas as friends. Mary's art had far-reaching importance, as she worked in Paris and Berlin, then in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, and Santa Barbara, California. Ms. Willaims brings us into this circle with great detail. Mary, like two of her sisters, became members of the American Communist Party.
Her sister, Gertrude Hoffmann, became an actress in Hollywood at the age of 62, upon the death of her husband, Ralph Hoffmann. She had a fairly successful career for such a late start, including the role of Mrs. Wetherby in Hitchcock's "Suspicion" and at age 82 landing a role on the 1950s television series, "My Little Margie", as Mrs. Odetts, opposite Gale Storm.
I highly recommend this fascinating look into the lives of five New England sisters and their family.
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Tags : Lives in Letters: A New England Family, 1870-2000 [Caroline H. Williams] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The eight women in this book, five Wesselhoeft sisters and three daughters, are brought to life through letters: those inherited and those (1891-l941) discovered in a goat's shed in a Berlin suburb. The sisters,Caroline H. Williams,Lives in Letters: A New England Family, 1870-2000,CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform,1523840153,FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS General
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Lives in Letters A New England Family 18702000 Caroline H Williams 9781523840151 Books Reviews
I don't often write reviews but was compelled to do so because of my sincere enjoyment of this book. The women portrayed in 'Lives in Letters' all took different and inspiring paths. Their unique choices and diverging destinies took them each on incredible personal adventures, all meticulously researched and engagingly described by author Caroline H. Williams. However, there is one common thread that unites the women in the book their grit, pluck, intelligence and refusal to let gender or circumstance limit them. It's a wonderful read, full of enjoyable characters and inspiring heroines!
“Eleanor showed us some of her treasures – five flat drawers full of lovely pieces of jewelry arranged by color. They were the stones or jade which she had ‘rummaged’ for in the Chinese flea markets and then designed into jewelry, such as aquamarine stones held together with white jade earring loops; ancient glass beads; exquisite cloisonné reset as shoulder ornaments.” [excerpt]
The lives in these letters and stories sparkle with a jewel-like brilliance few would expect of women dancing through life from the 1870s into the 20th century. The Wesselhoeft sisters are educated and liberated women traveling the world from Boston to Beijing, finding success in art, theater, cinema, writing, politics, and marriage. Fasten your seatbelt for an amazing, joyous romp with five very fast women.
As an historian whose research paralleled Ms. Williams' research with respect to Mary Fraser Wesselhoeft (1873-1971), I am not only deeply indebted to her for sharing her research, but am in awe of her work on the history of the Wesselhoeft family. Her research and insights are fascinating and bring to the reader the important contributions of this New England family.
From the start, as she introduces us to the characters of her narrative, we become aware of the distinguished standing of her ancestors. The patriarch in Germany owned a printing company and counted Goethe as both a client and a friend. Patients of Mary's father, Walter Wesselhoeft, included many of the great New England poets and authors Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Julia Ward Howe. Walter served as the inspiration for the character " Westervelt" in The Blithedale Romance, by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
As an artist living and working in Paris and Berlin, Mary traveled in rarified company, working with Matisse, and the important German glassmaker, Gottfried Heinersdorff (1883-1941), and counting Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas as friends. Mary's art had far-reaching importance, as she worked in Paris and Berlin, then in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, and Santa Barbara, California. Ms. Willaims brings us into this circle with great detail. Mary, like two of her sisters, became members of the American Communist Party.
Her sister, Gertrude Hoffmann, became an actress in Hollywood at the age of 62, upon the death of her husband, Ralph Hoffmann. She had a fairly successful career for such a late start, including the role of Mrs. Wetherby in Hitchcock's "Suspicion" and at age 82 landing a role on the 1950s television series, "My Little Margie", as Mrs. Odetts, opposite Gale Storm.
I highly recommend this fascinating look into the lives of five New England sisters and their family.
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