Carolyn Gold Heilbrun
Encyclopedia
Carolyn Gold Heilbrun was an American academic and prolific feminist
author of both important academic studies and popular mystery novels
under the pen name of Amanda Cross.
, receiving her M.A. in 1951 and Ph.D in 1959. Among her most important mentors were Columbia professors Jacques Barzun
and Lionel Trilling
, while Clifton Fadiman
was an important inspiration: She wrote about these three in her final non-fiction work, When Men Were the Only Models We Had: My Teachers Barzun, Fadiman, Trilling (2002).
Heilbrun taught English
at Columbia for more than three decades, from 1960 to 1993. She was the first woman to receive tenure
in the English Department, not unlike Trilling, who was the first tenured Jew in that department less than two decades earlier. Her academic specialty was British modern literature, with a particular interest in the Bloomsbury Group
. Her academic books include the feminist study Writing a Woman's Life (1988). In 1983, she co-founded and became co-editor of the Columbia University Press
's Gender and Culture Series with literary scholar Nancy K. Miller
. Upon her retirement in 1997, she was Avalon Foundation Professor in the Humanities Emerita at Columbia.
mysteries, written under the name Amanda Cross. Fansler, like Heilbrun, was an English professor. Heilbrun kept her second career as a mystery novelist secret in order to protect her academic career, until a fan discovered "Amanda Cross"'s true identity through copyright
records. The novels, all set in academia
, often were an outlet for Heilbrun's view on feminism
, academic politics, and other political issues. Death in a Tenured Position (set at Harvard University
) was particularly harsh in its criticism of the academic establishment's treatment of women.
, to Archibald Gold and Estelle Roemer Gold. The family moved to Manhattan when she was a child. She graduated from Wellesley College in 1947 at the top of her class. She married James Heilbrun (1923-2008) during World War II
, and they had three children. Heilbrun committed suicide
at her apartment in New York City
in 2003. According to her son, (novelist Robert Heilbrun), she was not ill but felt her life had been completed. A nearby note read "The journey is over. Love to all."
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
author of both important academic studies and popular mystery novels
Detective fiction
Detective fiction is a sub-genre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator , either professional or amateur, investigates a crime, often murder.-In ancient literature:...
under the pen name of Amanda Cross.
Career
Heilbrun attended graduate school in English literature at Columbia UniversityColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, receiving her M.A. in 1951 and Ph.D in 1959. Among her most important mentors were Columbia professors Jacques Barzun
Jacques Barzun
Jacques Martin Barzun is a French-born American historian of ideas and culture. He has written on a wide range of topics, but is perhaps best known as a philosopher of education, his Teacher in America being a strong influence on post-WWII training of schoolteachers in the United...
and Lionel Trilling
Lionel Trilling
Lionel Trilling was an American literary critic, author, and teacher. With wife Diana Trilling, he was a member of the New York Intellectuals and contributor to the Partisan Review. Although he did not establish a school of literary criticism, he is one of the leading U.S...
, while Clifton Fadiman
Clifton Fadiman
Clifton P. "Kip" Fadiman was an American intellectual, author, editor, radio and television personality.-Literary career:...
was an important inspiration: She wrote about these three in her final non-fiction work, When Men Were the Only Models We Had: My Teachers Barzun, Fadiman, Trilling (2002).
Heilbrun taught English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
at Columbia for more than three decades, from 1960 to 1993. She was the first woman to receive tenure
Tenure
Tenure commonly refers to life tenure in a job and specifically to a senior academic's contractual right not to have his or her position terminated without just cause.-19th century:...
in the English Department, not unlike Trilling, who was the first tenured Jew in that department less than two decades earlier. Her academic specialty was British modern literature, with a particular interest in the Bloomsbury Group
Bloomsbury Group
The Bloomsbury Group or Bloomsbury Set was a group of writers, intellectuals, philosophers and artists who held informal discussions in Bloomsbury throughout the 20th century. This English collective of friends and relatives lived, worked or studied near Bloomsbury in London during the first half...
. Her academic books include the feminist study Writing a Woman's Life (1988). In 1983, she co-founded and became co-editor of the Columbia University Press
Columbia University Press
Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by James D. Jordan and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fields of literary and cultural studies, history, social work, sociology,...
's Gender and Culture Series with literary scholar Nancy K. Miller
Nancy K. Miller
Nancy K. Miller is an American literary scholar and memoirist.Currently a Distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the CUNY Graduate Center, Miller is the author of several books on feminist criticism, women’s writing, and most recently, family memoir, biography, and...
. Upon her retirement in 1997, she was Avalon Foundation Professor in the Humanities Emerita at Columbia.
Kate Fansler mystery novels
She was the author of fourteen Kate FanslerKate Fansler
Kate Fansler is the main character in a series of fourteen mystery novels written by Carolyn Gold Heilbrun under the pseudonym Amanda Cross. Like Heilbrun, Fansler was a literature professor at a prestigious New York university. In the books, she is called upon to solve mysteries set in an academic...
mysteries, written under the name Amanda Cross. Fansler, like Heilbrun, was an English professor. Heilbrun kept her second career as a mystery novelist secret in order to protect her academic career, until a fan discovered "Amanda Cross"'s true identity through copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
records. The novels, all set in academia
Academia
Academia is the community of students and scholars engaged in higher education and research.-Etymology:The word comes from the akademeia in ancient Greece. Outside the city walls of Athens, the gymnasium was made famous by Plato as a center of learning...
, often were an outlet for Heilbrun's view on feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
, academic politics, and other political issues. Death in a Tenured Position (set at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
) was particularly harsh in its criticism of the academic establishment's treatment of women.
Life
Heilbrun was born in East Orange, New JerseyEast Orange, New Jersey
East Orange is a city in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the city's population 64,270, making it the state's 20th largest municipality, having dropped 5,554 residents from its population of 69,824 in the 2000 Census, when it was the state's 14th most...
, to Archibald Gold and Estelle Roemer Gold. The family moved to Manhattan when she was a child. She graduated from Wellesley College in 1947 at the top of her class. She married James Heilbrun (1923-2008) during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and they had three children. Heilbrun committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
at her apartment in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 2003. According to her son, (novelist Robert Heilbrun), she was not ill but felt her life had been completed. A nearby note read "The journey is over. Love to all."
Kate Fansler mysteries
- In The Last Analysis (1964)
- The James Joyce Murder (1967)
- Poetic Justice (1970)
- The Theban Mysteries (1971)
- The Question of Max (1976)
- Death in a Tenured Position (1981, Nero AwardNero AwardThe Nero Award is a literary award for excellence in the mystery genre presented by The Wolfe Pack, a society founded in 1978 to explore and celebrate the Nero Wolfe stories of Rex Stout...
winner) - Sweet Death, Kind Death (1984)
- No Word From Winifred (1986)
- A Trap for Fools (1989)
- The Players Come Again (1990)
- An Imperfect Spy (1995)
- The Collected Stories (1997) most are for Kate Fansler
- The Puzzled Heart (1998)
- Honest Doubt (2000)
- The Edge of Doom (2002)
Non-fiction, academic publications
In addition to her mystery novels, Heilbrun was the author of 14 nonfiction books, including the feminist study Writing a Woman's Life (1988). These books include:- The Garnett Family (1961)
- Toward a Recognition of Androgyny (1973)
- Lady Ottoline's Album (1976) (editor)
- Reinventing Womanhood (1979)
- The Representation of Women in Fiction (1983) (co-editor)
- Writing a Woman's Life (1988)
- Hamlet's Mother and Other Women (1990) (collection of essays)
- The Education of a Woman: The Life of Gloria Steinem (1995)
- The Last Gift of Time: Life Beyond Sixty (1997) ISBN 0-345-42295-3
- When Men Were the Only Models We Had: My Teachers Barzun, Fadiman, Trilling (2002) ISBN 0-8122-3632-7
Papers
- Five Colleges Archives and Manuscript Collections - Carolyn G. Heilbrun Papers (1846-1979)
Articles
- Columbia University
- Wellesley College
- Barnard College (video)
- Britannica
- NNDB
- Jewish Women's Archive
- Random House
- W. W. Norton
- University of Virginia Press biography
- New York Times Magazine - November 8, 1992
- Scholar and Feminist Online (SFO) - Writing a Feminist's Life: The Legacy of Carolyn G. Heilbrun (2006)
Obituaries
- Columbia University - October 10, 2003
- Times - October 13, 2003
- Los Angeles Times - October 15, 2003
- New York Times - October 23, 2003
- Independent - October 24, 2003
- New York Magazine - December 1, 2003
- Frugal Fun - undated