Helen Hooven Santmyer

Helen Hooven Santmyer
1984 publicity photograph, Santmyer autographing a copy of Ladies
Born	(1895-11-25)November 25, 1895 Cincinnati, Ohio
Died	February 21, 1986(1986-02-21) (aged 90) Xenia, Ohio
Occupation	Novelist, educator, librarian
Nationality	American
Notable works	"...And Ladies of the Club"

Helen Hooven Santmyer (November 25, 1895 – February 21, 1986) was an American writer, educator, and librarian. She is primarily known for her best-selling epic "...And Ladies of the Club", published when she was in her 80s.

Santmyer was born on November 25, 1895 in Cincinnati, Ohio, the oldest child of John Wright and Bertha Hooven Santmyer. Her father had been a medical student in Cincinnati, but in 1900 switched to business and moved to the Hooven family home in Xenia, taking a position with the R.A. Kelly Company, a rope manufacturer. Inspired by Louisa May Alcott, Santmyer was determined to become a writer and kept a diary from age 10. She also derived inspiration from her grandfathers; both were veterans of the American Civil War and would relate stories of their service. She furthermore derived negative inspiration from her mother, who she felt sacrificed a promising career as an artist for the sake of marriage and children, and was determined never to marry.

As a child, Santmyer had a severe case of undulant fever. She recovered, but was left weakened for life, and sometimes subject to bed confinement with fevers or a . She would always find it difficult to work and write at the same time.

She was brought up Presbyterian. Her mother and grandmother were regular church attendees. In later years, she no longer believed in doctrine, and did not attend services.

She attended Wellesley College 1914–18 and was active in the struggle for women's rights; she began publishing her poetry as an undergraduate. The 1916 Alfred Noyes edited collection, A Book of Princeton Verse (poems by Princeton students), was widely read in Santmyer's circle, and strongly influenced her. She quit her clubs and committees and wrote a manifesto that appeared in The Wellesley College Magazine, May 1917, criticizing women who do not dedicate themselves to their art, the way she presumed men did.

After graduation, Santmeyer took a job as an editorial secretary with Scribner's in New York City for two years. She returned to Xenia, teaching locally and at Wellesley College, during which time she wrote her first novel, Herbs and Apples, based on her life in Xenia, college, and working for Scribner's. After Wellesley, Santmyer attended Oxford University in England for three years, 1924–27. During her time there, she met and befriended a fellow Xenian, the poet Ridgely Torrence. She wrote a thesis on 17th century women writers, focusing largely on Clara Reeve. Culminating her studies at Oxford, Santmyer was awarded a B.Litt. degree.