Louise Fitzhugh
Louise Fitzhugh was an influential American author born on October 5, 1928, in Memphis, Tennessee. Despite her affluent upbringing, characterized by a prestigious family and a tumultuous childhood marked by her parents' divorce, Fitzhugh sought to break away from societal expectations. She pursued studies in literature and art, ultimately becoming a celebrated writer and illustrator. Fitzhugh is best known for her groundbreaking children's novel, "Harriet the Spy," published in 1964, which introduced complex themes and characters that diverged from traditional children's literature of the time.
Her work often tackled topics previously considered taboo, such as menstruation, and showcased protagonists with unfiltered personalities, generating mixed reviews from critics. Despite initial disapproval, readers resonated with her characters, particularly Harriet, who navigated the challenges of adolescence and identity. Fitzhugh's contributions to literature have been recognized posthumously, with several of her books remaining in print and considered significant to the evolution of modern children's literature. She passed away on November 19, 1974, yet her legacy continues through her impactful storytelling and character development.
Subject Terms
Louise Fitzhugh
American children’s novelist and illustrator.
- Born: October 5, 1928
- Birthplace: Memphis, Tennessee
- Died: November 19, 1974
- Place of death: New Milford, Connecticut
Biography
Louise Fitzhugh was born on October 5, 1928, in Memphis, Tennessee, to Millsaps Fitzhugh, a federal attorney, and Louise Perkins Fitzhugh, a dancer. Although her family was prestigious and prosperous, Fitzhugh endured a bitter custody dispute when her parents divorced and loathed many aspects of her privileged youth. She attended Hutchison School and resented friends expecting her to conform to such social practices as being a debutante and tolerating racism. Fitzhugh studied at Southwestern College in Memphis and Florida Southern College. Escaping Memphis, Fitzhugh enrolled at Bard College, where she attempted to shed southern mannerisms, including speech patterns, while concentrating on literature classes. She also took educational courses at New York University.
Despite her efforts, the South and her family continued to influence her. Dropping out of Bard in 1951 without earning a degree, Fitzhugh took art classes at the Art Students League and Cooper Union. Local galleries exhibited her work, which received good reviews. Fitzhugh went to Bologna, Italy, in 1957, to improve her painting. She traveled in Europe and lived in New York City and Bridgewater, Connecticut.
Fitzhugh started writing stories when she was eleven and balanced between concentrating on art and writing. She illustrated a picture book, Suzuki Beane (1961), written with Sandra Scoppettone. Fitzhugh’s family refused to endorse her creative lifestyle. She supported herself with money her father and stepmother bequeathed her in their wills. Fitzhugh hired an agent to find a publisher for Harriet the Spy, which she also illustrated, and secured an advance to continue writing. Fitzhugh wrote two novels and a picture book prior to dying from aneurysms on November 19, 1974, at New Milford, Connecticut. Her publisher printed several of Fitzhugh’s books and illustrations posthumously.
The New York Times named Harriet the Spy an Outstanding Book of the Year in 1964. Three years later, that novel won the Sequoyah Award chosen by young Oklahoma readers and was an American Library Association Notable Book. Fitzhugh’s Bang, Bang, You’re Dead and Nobody’s Family Is Going to Change also were recognized with honors and inclusion on lists. Most critics disliked Fitzhugh’s novels because they differed from typical 1960s children’s literature by depicting a protagonist whom they perceived as rude, sneaky, and obnoxious. Critics also claimed that Harriet’s nanny encouraged lying, and reviewers misinterpreted situations as being realistic rather than satirical, as Fitzhugh intended. Fitzhugh’s books also addressed menstruation and other topics that were previously unmentioned in children’s literature.
Fitzhugh’s characters revealed many unpleasant, often unchangeable, human flaws, as exemplified by the main character, Harriet, who practices becoming a writer by recording her impressions in a notebook. Readers identified with curious, misunderstood Harriet and felt empathy for her loneliness and predicaments, embracing Fitzhugh’s novel despite reviewers’ disapproval. Fitzhugh perceptively reveals how characters’ points of view and misunderstandings influence perceptions in her novels. Her characters often appear in more than one of her books, and they often express their opinions of the other characters whom Fitzhugh created. Generations of readers have kept Fitzhugh’s books in print. Scholars consider Fitzhugh’s work significant to the development of modern children’s literature.
Author Works
Children’s Literature:
Suzuki Beane, 1961 (with Sandra Scoppettone)
Harriet the Spy, 1964
The Long Secret, 1965
Bang, Bang, You’re Dead, 1969 (with Sandra Scoppettone)
Nobody’s Family Is Going to Change, 1974
I Am Five, 1978
Sport, 1979
I Am Three, 1982
I Am Four, 1982
I Know Everything about John and He Knows Everything about Me, 1993
Bibliography
“Louise Fitzhugh.” Biography Today, 2010, p. 1. Biography Reference Center, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=b6h&AN=34912694&site=brc-live. Accessed 15 Jun. 2017. A brief biography of Fitzhugh, including summaries of Harriet the Spy and The Long Secret.
Horning, Kathleen T. “Spying on Louise Fitzhugh.” The Horn Book Magazine, May-June 2010, p. 13+. Horning recalls reading Harriet the Spy during her childhood and writes about her quest to find out more about Fitzhugh.
McMullen, Judith Q. “The Spy and the Poet: Young Girls as Writers in Harriet the Spy and Anastasia Krupnik.” Children’s Literature Association Quarterly, 1991 Proceedings, pp. 200–204. Compares the protagonists of Harriet the Spy and Lois Lowry’s Anastasia Krupnik to other literary characters who are young girls who write.
Morris, Robin Amelia. “The Secret Development of a Girl Writer: Louise Fitzhugh’s Harriet the Spy.” Mystery in Children’s Literature: From the Rational to the Supernatural, edited by Adrienne E. Gavin, Palgrave, 2001, pp. 115–130. Discusses the intersection of two genres, the künstlerroman, or artist’s novel, and the detective novel in Harriet the Spy.
Stahl, J. D. “Satire and the Evolution of Perspective in Children’s Literature: Mark Twain, E. B. White, and Louise Fitzhugh.” Children’s Literature Association Quarterly, vol. 15, no. 3, 1990, pp. 119–122. Examines the use of satire in the works of Twain, White, and Fitzhugh.