Gertrude Atherton
Gertrude Atherton (1857-1948) was an influential American novelist and advocate for women's rights, known for her exploration of women's roles within a patriarchal society. Born in San Francisco, her early life was marked by her parents' divorce, leading her to be raised by her mother and grandfather, who nurtured her literary interests despite her limited formal education. Atherton's literary career began in the early 1880s with her first novel, and she later gained recognition for her candid portrayals of free-spirited women and frank discussions of sexuality, which garnered both admiration and criticism.
After her husband's death in 1887, she moved to Europe, where her work flourished, particularly with her successful novel "Patience Sparhawk and Her Times." Throughout her writing, Atherton tackled controversial subjects, contributing to her reputation as a feminist writer. She received numerous accolades, including being made a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor and winning a Gold Medal from the City of San Francisco. Atherton's legacy includes a significant body of work that encompasses novels, autobiographies, and essays, reflecting her commitment to women's issues and her keen observations of society.
Gertrude Atherton
American novelist and nonfiction writer.
- Born: October 30, 1857
- Birthplace: San Francisco, California
- Died: June 14, 1948
- Place of death: San Francisco, California
Biography
Gertrude Horn was born in San Francisco, California, on October 30, 1857, the only child of Thomas L. Horn, a businessman, and Gertrude Franklin Horn. After her parents were divorced, her mother took the two-year-old Gertrude to her maternal grandfather’s ranch in San Jose. He encouraged her to make use of his extensive library. However, her formal education was limited. She did attend St. Mary’s Hall School in Benicia, California, and the Sayre Institute in Lexington, Kentucky.
Upon her return from Kentucky, the seventeen-year-old Gertrude fell in love with her mother’s suitor, George H. Bowen Atherton. They eloped and went to live on the Atherton estate at Fair Oaks, California. The household was dominated by George’s tyrannical mother, a Chilean aristocrat. George himself proved to be a jealous man who objected to Gertrude’s writing or even reading. The couple had two children, George Goñi, who died at six, and Muriel Florence. After George’s sudden death in 1887, Gertrude immediately left for New York and Europe.
In 1882, Atherton’s first novel, The Randolphs of Redwood, appeared anonymously in the San Francisco Argonaut. Atherton used the pseudonym Frank Lin for her second book, What Dreams May Come. After that, she wrote under her own name.
Atherton used settings based on California history for several of her early novels. However, even in them she wrote about free- spirited women trapped in a patriarchal society. Her feminist perspective and her frankness about sex aroused the hostility of many American critics. In 1895, when she could not find an American publisher for Patience Sparhawk and Her Times, Atherton moved to England, where her description of the new Western woman made the book both a critical and a popular success.
Atherton spent 1899 in Washington, D.C., studying the political process. Senator North was a thinly disguised description of the career of an actual senator. It was followed by a study of Alexander Hamilton titled The Conqueror, which sold a million copies. Her other fictionalized biographies are ranked as among her best books.
When World War I broke out, Atherton went to Europe as a New York Times correspondent. After the war, she decided to undergo a new rejuvenation treatment. Black Oxen, her novel about this experience, was a best-seller and later made into a silent film. Atherton spent most of her later years in San Francisco, writing novels in which she continued to focus on women’s issues, as well as an autobiography, Adventures of a Novelist. Atherton died in San Francisco on June 14, 1948.
Among Atherton’s awards was a Gold Medal from the International Academy of Letters and Sciences of Italy. In 1925, she was made a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor. She received honorary degrees from Mills College and the University of California. In 1947, she was given a Gold Medal by the City of San Francisco.
Through sheer hard work and determination, Gertrude Atherton became one of the best-known women writers of the early twentieth century. Her insistence on dealing honestly with controversial subjects made her one of the most effective advocates of women’s rights of her generation.
Author Works
Long Fiction:
The Randolphs of Redwood, 1882 (pb. anonymously, republished as A Daughter of the Vine, 1899)
Glimpses of Three Coasts, 1886
What Dreams May Come, 1888 (as Frank Lin)
Hermia Suydam, 1889
Cerritos, 1890
Before the Gringo Came, 1894
The Doomswoman, 1895
A Whirl Asunder, 1895
His Fortunate Grace, 1897
Patience Sparhawk and Her Times, 1897
The Valiant Runaways, 1898
The Californians, 1898
Senator North, 1900
American Wives and English Husbands, 1901
The Aristocrats, 1901
The Conqueror, 1902
Heart of Hyacinth, 1903
Mrs. Pendleton's Four-in-Hand, 1903
Rulers of Kings, 1904
The Travelling Thirds, 1905
Rezanov, 1906
Ancestors, 1907
The Gorgeous Isle, 1908
Tower of Ivory, 1910
Julia France and Her Times, 1912
Perch of the Devil, 1914
Mrs. Balfame, 1916
The White Morning, 1918
The Avalanche, 1919
Transplanted, 1919
The Sisters-in-Law: A Novel of Our Times, 1921
Sleeping Fires, 1922 (known in England as Dormant Fires, 1922)
Black Oxen, 1923
The Crystal Cup, 1925
The Immortal Marriage, 1927
The Jealous Gods, 1928
Dido, Queen of Hearts, 1929
The Sophisticates, 1931
Golden Peacock, 1936
The House of Lee, 1940
The Horn of Life, 1942
Nonfiction:
The Living Present: French Women in WWI, 1917
Adventures of a Novelist, 1932
California, an Intimate History, 1936
Can Women Be Gentlemen?, 1938
Golden Gate Country, 1945
My San Francisco: A Wayward Biography, 1946
Short Fiction:
The Bell in the Fog, and Other Stories, 1905
The Foghorn: Stories, 1934
Bibliography
Demers, Daniel J. "Gertrude Atherton's Russians." Russian Life, vol. 54, no. 1, 2011, pp. 36–40. Discusses Atherton's depictions of Russians in California, focusing on the novels The Doomswoman and Rezanov.
Leider, Emily Wortis. California's Daughter: Gertrude Atherton and Her Times. Stanford UP, 1991. The main full-length biography of Atherton.
Morey, Anne. "'The Gland School': Gertrude Atherton and the Two Black Oxen." Framework: The Journal of Cinema & Media, vol 54, no. 1, 2013, pp. 59–76. This essay examines Atherton's presentation of female desire, focusing on the novel "Black Oxen" and its film adaptation.
Petries, Windy Counsell. "Gertrude Atherton's Europe: Portal or Looking Glass?" American Writers in Europe: 1850 to the Present, Ferda Asya, ed., Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. Discusses Atherton's relationship with Europe, including her years as an expatriate.
Rosenberg, Tracey S. "A Challenge to Victorian Motherhood: Mona Caird and Gertrude Atherton." Women's Writing, vol. 12, no. 3, Oct. 2005, pp. 485–504. Discusses Atherton's negative view of fellow writer Mona Caird, despite the support of both for women's rights and their common rejection of motherhood as women's chief role.