Julia Cruger
Julia Grinnell Storrow Cruger (pseudonym, Julien Gordon; c. 1850 – July 12, 1920) was an American novelist. Because many of her books examined the American social world, she was known as the Edith Wharton of her day.
Julia Cruger | |
|---|---|
.jpg.webp) portrait by Fernand Paillet | |
| Born | 19 July 1854  Paris |
| Died | 12 July 1920 (aged 65) |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Spouse(s) | Stephen Van Rensselaer Cruger |
Family
Julia Grinnell Storrow was born in Paris, France, c. 1850. She was the daughter of Thomas Wentworth Storrow of Boston[1] and a grandniece of Washington Irving.[2]
Career
She married Civil War veteran Col. Stephen Van Rensselaer Cruger, grandson of Stephen Van Rensselaer, who died in 1898, leaving her independently well off.[3][4] She married broker Wade Chance in 1908; they separated after a year and were divorced in 1916.[1][2][4][5] Cruger, who spoke French fluently, then moved to Paris for several years, returning to New York not long before her death.[2]
In 1892, Cruger and her husband were included in Ward McAllister's "Four Hundred", purported to be an index of New York's best families, published in The New York Times.[6] Conveniently, 400 was the number of people that could fit into Mrs. Astor's ballroom.[7]
Her first book was A Diplomat's Diary (1890); it and the next three novels all appeared first in serial form.[1] Many of her novels closely examined the social world of New York and Washington, D.C., and she was known as the Edith Wharton of her day.[2][4]
Selected works
- A Diplomat's Diary (1890)
- Vampires: Mademoiselle Réséda (1891)
- A Successful Man (1891)
- A Puritan Pagan (1891)
- Marionettes (1892)
- His Letters (1892)
- Poppaea (1895)
- A Wedding and Other Stories (1896)
- Eat Not Thy Heart (1897)
- Mrs. Clyde: The Story of a Social Career (1901)
- The Wage of Character: A Social Study (1901)
References
- Willard, Frances E. & Livermore, Mary A. (eds.) A Woman of the Century, p. 218 (1893).
- (13 July 1920). Mrs. Julia Cruger, Once Famous As Author, Dies Here, New York Tribune, p. 11
- (24 June 1898). Death of S.V.R. Cruger, The New York Times
- (13 July 1920). Mrs. Cruger, Novelist Julien Gordon, Dies: Widow of Col. S. Van. R. Cruger and ex-wife of Wade Chance, Wrote "Vampires", The New York Times
- (13 July 1920). Mrs. J. G. Cruger, Kin of Washington Irving, Dies, Chicago Tribune
- McAllister, Ward (16 February 1892). "THE ONLY FOUR HUNDRED | WARD M'ALLISTER GIVES OUT THE OFFICIAL LIST. HERE ARE THE NAMES, DON'T YOU KNOW, ON THE AUTHORITY OF THEIR GREAT LEADER, YOU UNDER- STAND, AND THEREFORE GENUINE, YOU SEE" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
- Keister, Lisa A. (2005). Getting Rich: America's New Rich and How They Got That Way. Cambridge University Press. p. 36. ISBN 9780521536677. Retrieved 20 October 2017.