Not What You Meant? There are 16 definitions for Lovelace. Also try: Black Angels.

Maud Hart Lovelace

About 2 pages (734 words)

Questions on this topic? Just ask!

Maud Hart Lovelace (April 25 1892 - March 11 1980) was an American author best known for the Betsy-Tacy series.

1 Early life
2 Literary career
3 Bibliography
- 3.1 Betsy-Tacy series
  - 3.1.1 Deep Valley series
4 External links

Early life

She was born in Mankato, Minnesota, and she was the daughter of Tom Hart, owner of a shoe store, and Stella Palmer Hart. She was the middle child and her sisters were Kathleen (Julia in the Betsy-Tacy books) and Helen (Margaret in the Betsy-Tacy books). She started writing as soon as she could hold a pencil, and wrote in her school's essay contest when she was a junior and senior. She was born a Baptist but converted to Episcopalianism as a teenager. She went on to the University of Minnesota but took a leave of absence, during which she went to California. She returned to the university and worked on the Minnesota Daily. She met Russell McCord, to whom she was engaged several times, while working on the Minnesota Daily. She did not graduate from college. While spending a year in Europe in 1914, she was briefly involved with Paolo Conte, an Italian architect. She married Delos Lovelace when she was twenty-five years old. Delos and Maud met in April 1917 and were married on Thanksgiving Day the same year. They were, however, separated until 1919 due to Delos' military service in the First World War. They split their time between Minneapolis and New York (including Yonkers and Mount Vernon) for several years. After 1928, they lived in New York permanently until their retirement in California.

Literary career

Her first book was The Black Angels, which was published in 1924 and is a historical novel set in Minnesota. She wrote several more historical novels, including the successful Early Candlelight in 1929. She is best known for her books for children. The Betsy-Tacy series started in 1938 after Lovelace told her daughter Merian (b. 1931) stories about her childhood. The first book in the series, Betsy-Tacy, was published in 1940, and the last book, Betsy's Wedding, was published in 1955. The first four books increase in reading difficulty so that the child can grow up along with Betsy-Tacy. The Betsy-Tacy books take place mostly in the fictional town of Deep Valley, Minnesota, which is based on Mankato. There are also three loosely connected books set in Deep Valley, Winona's Pony Cart, Emily of Deep Valley, and Carney's House Party, in which Betsy and Tacy have minor roles. The series has been enduringly popular. The city of Mankato declared Betsy-Tacy Day on October 7, 1961. Lovelace spent her later years in California where she died in 1980. She is buried in the Glenwood Cemetery in Mankato, where you can also find a monument dedicated to her. The Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award was established in 1980. Each year, a group of nominees are chosen in two categories: grades 3-5 and grades 6-8. Children who have read at least three books in the relevant category cast a vote for their favorite. Details about her life and work can be found in the Lovelace biography, A Betsy-Tacy Companion by Sharla Whalen.