Elizabeth Coatsworth
Elizabeth Jane Coatsworth was an American author born on May 31, 1893, in Buffalo, New York. She pursued her education at several prestigious institutions, including Vassar College and Columbia University, and had a brief stint at Radcliffe College. Coatsworth married writer Henry Beston in 1929 and had two daughters. Initially starting her career as a poet, she found significant success as a children's book author, with her most notable work, "The Cat Who Went to Heaven" (1930), earning her the Newbery Medal. Her writing is characterized by its lyrical prose, ability to evoke tranquility, and rich settings inspired by her time on a New England farm and her travels abroad. In addition to children's literature, she wrote novels for adults, many influenced by her experiences in Maine. Despite her declining health in the 1970s halting her prolific writing, Coatsworth continued to be recognized for her contributions to literature until her death in 1986 in Maine. A previously unpublished poem of hers was released posthumously in 1997.
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Subject Terms
Elizabeth Coatsworth
Writer
- Born: May 31, 1893
- Birthplace: Buffalo, New York
- Died: 1986
- Place of death: Noblesboro, Maine
Biography
Elizabeth Jane Coatsworth was born on May 31, 1893, in Buffalo, New York, the daughter of William T. and Ida Coatsworth. Elizabeth received her secondary education at the Buffalo Seminary, graduating in 1911. She then went to Vassar College, where she received a bachelor’s degree in 1915. She subsequently went to Columbia University, where she earned a master’s degree in 1916. In addition, she attended Radcliffe College, the women’s sister institution to Harvard (at that time, women were not permitted to enroll in Harvard, a relic of a time when it was considered inappropriate for men and women to study together), but did not complete a degree. She married Henry Beston, a writer, on June 18, 1929, and had two children, Margaret (later the wife of Dorik Mechaul) and Catherine (later the wife of Richard Barnes).
Coatsworth began her writing career as a poet but found her success as a writer of children’s books. However, her earlier experience in poetry continued to shine through all her works in her lyrical touch with prose and her careful, craftsmanly word selections. She first gained renown with her children’s book The Cat Who Went to Heaven (1930), which won her the Newbery Medal, an award given each year by the American Library Association. Even before she won the award, critics praised the way in which she evoked a sense of serenity and beauty of an exotic, eastern culture. Throughout her career, one of her noteworthy skills was her ability to evoke a sense of peace and gentleness, even while maintaining a sufficient amount of conflict to keep a story moving forward. She drew heavily upon her many years living on a New England farm for the setting of a number of her books. However, as a widely traveled woman, she did not allow herself to become confined to any one setting. She drew upon the experiences of her many trips abroad to set stories in locales that would be exotic and exciting to young American children.
In addition to her children’s stories, she wrote a number of novels for adults, many of which were inspired by her years in Maine. Coatsworth continued to write into the 1970’s, but her declining health curbed her once prolific output and ended it altogether. She died in 1986 in Noblesboro, Maine. She was buried in the Hall Cemetery in that town. In 1997 a previously unpublished poem, “Song of the Camels (Twelfth Night),” was posthumously published as Song of the Camels: A Christmas Poem.