Henrietta Buckmaster
Henrietta Buckmaster was an influential American author and editor, born in 1909 in Cleveland, Ohio. Raised in an affluent environment, she received a private education in New York. Buckmaster married Peter John Stephens but published all her literary works under her maiden name. Her career included editing roles at notable publications such as McFadden Publications, Harper's Bazaar, and Reader's Digest, culminating in her position at the Christian Science Monitor from 1973 to 1983.
Her writing often explored themes of race, civil rights, and women's rights, highlighted in works like "Let My People Go: The Story of the Underground Railroad and the Growth of the Abolition Movement." Buckmaster also authored fiction, including the award-winning novel "Deep River," and wrote numerous children's books, particularly later in her career, where her narratives became more accessible and less politically charged. In recognition of her literary contributions, she received a Guggenheim fellowship before her passing on April 26, 1983, in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Buckmaster’s work remains significant for its engagement with important social issues of her time.
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Henrietta Buckmaster
Writer
- Born: 1909
- Birthplace: Cleveland, Ohio
- Died: April 26, 1983
- Place of death: Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
Biography
Henrietta Buckmaster was born in 1909, in Cleveland, Ohio, as the daughter of Rae D. Henkle, a book editor, and Pearl (Wintermute) Henkle. She grew up with the luxury of being educated in select private schools in New York. Buckmaster married Peter John Stephens but wrote all of her works under the name of Henrietta Buckmaster. In the literary world, Buckmaster held editing positions at McFadden Publications, Harper’s Bazaar, and Reader’s Digest. She joined the staff of the Christian Science Monitor in 1973, where she worked as the editor of the paper’s fine arts and literary page until 1983.
Race and gender played a key role in Buckmaster’s writing, and many of her books were centered on race, civil rights, and women’s rights. For example, her book Let My People Go: The Story of the Underground Railroad and the Growth of the Abolition Movement deals with the history of racial strife. Buckmaster also wrote novels, including Deep River, which won the Ohioana Award in fiction for 1945, and Fire in the Heart.
Buckmaster was also an author of many children’s books, including Flight to Freedom: The Story of the Underground Railroad and Women Who Shaped History. Later in life, her writing was oriented toward a younger audience and consequently lost some of the edge exhibited in her earlier works. In addition, Buckmaster’s outspoken Christian values and liberal ideas were softened in the children’s books she wrote. Near the conclusion of her life, she was awarded a prestigious Guggenheim fellowship for her excellence in writing. Henrietta Buckmaster died after a short illness on April 26, 1983, in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.