Caroline Dale Snedeker
| Caroline Snedeker | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | Caroline Dale Parke March 3, 1871 New Harmony, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died |
January 22, 1956 Bay St. Louis, Mississippi |
| Pen name | Caroline Dale Owen |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Nationality | American |
| Period | 1911–1956 |
| Genre | Children's historical fiction |
| Notable works | Downright Dencey |
Caroline Dale Snedeker née Parke (March 3, 1871 – January 22, 1956) was an American writer, primarily of children's historical novels. Two of her books, Downright Dencey and The Forgotten Daughter, were runners-up for the Newbery Medal. On occasion she used the pen name Caroline Dale Owen.
She was born on March 23, 1871 in New Harmony, Indiana, to Charles A. Parke and Nina Dale Owen. Her great-grandfather was Robert Owen, one of Britain’s first social reformers and industrialists. She grew up near Mount Vernon, Indiana, in a family with three sisters. They later moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where she attended the College of Music. She and her sisters performed instrumental concerts to support the family after her father died. Caroline was the pianist in the group and later became a music instructor. She married Charles H. Snedeker in 1903, and they moved to Hempstead, New York. Eventually she moved to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and died on January 22, 1956, at the age of 84. Her body was buried at Live Oak Cemetery in Harrison County, Mississippi.
Snedeker's writings consist of 12 or 13 novels for older children or teens and two or three books for adults, along with a handful of other articles, stories and poems. The majority of her novels were inspired by her love for the ancient world and are set in Greece or the Roman Empire. She also based a series on American history. The morals of her time can be found throughout her novels, especially in the texts aimed at young adults.
Snedeker's first book,The Coward of Thermopylae, appeared for adults in 1911. It gained popularity in 1912 when it was reissued for young adults and re-titled The Spartan. The novel is about an Athenian soldier named Aristodemos, who travels to Sparta and trains to fight in Thermopylae. At first considered a coward, he acquits himself with a noble death. The great response to these novels sparked requests for a children's version. In 1924 Snedeker published Theras and His Town (1924). Theras is an eleven-year-old boy who moved from Athens to Sparta where he experiences a brutal life under Spartan control and attempts to escape back to Athens.The Forgotten Daughter (1933) is also set in Ancient Rome, and is a Newbery Honor Book.
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