Alice Turner Curtis


Alice Turner Curtis was an American writer of juvenile historical fiction. She was probably best remembered by young readers of her day for The Little Maid's Historical Series. She has written at least sixty published books.

Family

She was born in Sullivan, Maine, the youngest-known child of John Vinal Turner and Susan Ann Spear. Her father and another relative were sailmakers. Reverend Charles R. Tenney married Alice to Irving Curtis on May 20, 1895, in Boston, Massachusetts, where they both resided at the time. She was listed in Daughters of the American Revolution, much as her father's father, Fobes Turner was listed in Sons of the American Revolution. She had at least three siblings. She dedicated Marjorie in the Sunny South to her sister, Anna.

Life and education

She went to public schools in Maine and Massachusetts, but was also tutored privately. She was a Republican in 1936, and a supporter of women's suffrage. She was a member of D.A.R., and the New England Women's Club, Boston. She was also a salaried contributor to Youth's Companion. She enjoyed reading, walking, and housekeeping for recreation. Although her earliest-known book was published in 1904, she had been in the literary profession by 1895 according to her marriage record.

Works

The Little Maids historical series

Although only one book in this series is known to be written by Alice Turner Curtis, she did write the first of them. These are novels, much as most of her other works.
She also wrote short stories in Century Magazine, by 1915