Mary Stolz
Mary Stolz, born on March 24, 1920, in Boston, Massachusetts, and raised in New York City, was an influential American author known for her contributions to young adult and children's literature. She attended progressive schools, which fostered her love for reading, and began her writing career after a period of focusing on family life. Following her recovery from surgery in 1949, Stolz published her first novel, "To Tell Your Love," and went on to write over sixty books, including notable young adult novels and children's stories. Her works often feature realistic characters and situations that resonate with adolescent experiences. Stolz's literary achievements include two Newbery Honor Books—"Belling the Tiger" and "The Noonday Friends"—alongside a National Book Award nomination for "The Edge of Next Year." Her books have been translated into more than twenty-five languages, illustrating her widespread appeal. Stolz's disciplined writing routine and varied themes continue to inspire readers and writers alike.
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Mary Stolz
- Born: March 24, 1920
- Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts
- Died: December 15, 2006
- Place of death: Longboat Key, Florida
Biography
Mary Slattery was born on March 24, 1920, in Boston, Massachusetts, but grew up in New York City. Her parents were Thomas Francis Slattery and Mary Burgey Slattery. She attended an alternative progressive school in New York, the Birch Wathen School, where children were encouraged to follow their own interests. She read widely in literature and history, edited the school magazine, Birch Leaves, and largely ignored math and science.
She was an avid reader from an early age, making frequent use of the public library but also receiving books as favorite presents. She credits her Uncle Bill, especially, with giving her books that made a lasting impression, by such authors as Jane Austen, A. A. Milne, and Ernest Thompson Seton. From 1936 to 1938, she attended Columbia University Teacher’s College, and then spent a year at the Katharine Gibbs School, where she learned to type.
At eighteen she married Stanley Stolz, an engineer, and changed her name to Mary Stolz, the name she used on her publications. The couple had one son, William. For the first years of her marriage, Stolz focused on raising her son and running her home, and did not write. Homebound while recovering from surgery in 1949, she began to write again at the urging of her physician, Thomas C. Jaleski, who felt that working on a large project would speed her recovery.
In 1950, Stolz published her first book, To Tell Your Love, about a fifteen-year-old girl experiencing the pain of a first love. She published fifteen more young adult novels over the next decade. As her son grew old enough to want stories of his own, she also began writing children’s books, beginning with The Leftover Elf in 1952.
Stolz and her husband divorced in 1956, and in 1965 she married her physician. They settled on Florida’s Gulf Coast. Stolz is a disciplined writer, working from eight o’clock to noon every day. She has published more than sixty books, as well as short stories and articles in magazines including Seventeen and Cosmopolitan.
Stolz’s work is recognized for her realistic characters and situations, reflecting the contemporary world of adolescence. Two of Stolz’s books, Belling the Tiger and The Noonday Friends, were named Newbery Honor Books. Belling the Tiger was also an American Library Association Notable Book. The Edge of Next Year was nominated for the National Book Award. Stolz’s books have been translated into more than twenty-five languages.