Elizabeth Spencer (writer)
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Spencer is a writer. Spencer's first novel, Fire in the Morning, was published in 1948. She has written a total of nine novels, seven collections of short stories, a memoir (Landscapes of the Heart, 1998), and a play (For Lease or Sale, 1989). Her novella The Light in the Piazza
(1960) was adapted for the screen
in 1962 and transformed into a Broadway musical of the same name in 2005. She is a five-time recipient of the O. Henry Award
for short fiction.
, Spencer was valedictorian
of her graduating class at local J.Z. George High School. She earned her Bachelor of Arts at Belhaven College
in Jackson, Mississippi
and her Master's Degree in Literature
at Vanderbilt University
in Nashville, Tennessee
in 1943.
Spencer taught at the junior-college level for two years before accepting a job with the Nashville Tennessean, but she soon returned to teaching, this time at the University of Mississippi
in Oxford
. In 1953 she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship
and left Mississippi to live in Italy and pursue writing full time.
In 1957, the fiction jury of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction recommended that she should be awarded that year's prize for her novel, The Voice at the Back Door, but the Pulitzer board, which has sole discretion for awarding the prize, made no award.
in 1986. She taught creative writing
at Concordia University
in Montreal, and at the University of North Carolina
until her retirement. Rusher died in 1998, and Spencer continues to live in Chapel Hill.
Spencer's mother is the great aunt of John McCain
.
The Light in the Piazza (novel)
The Light in the Piazza is a 1960 novella by Mississippi writer Elizabeth Spencer.At its core are Margaret Johnson and her daughter Clara, on vacation in Italy, where Clara becomes enamored of local Florentine Fabrizio...
(1960) was adapted for the screen
The Light in the Piazza (film)
The Light in the Piazza is a 1962 film adaptation of the Elizabeth Spencer novel of the same title. It was directed by Guy Green and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer....
in 1962 and transformed into a Broadway musical of the same name in 2005. She is a five-time recipient of the O. Henry Award
O. Henry Award
The O. Henry Award is the only yearly award given to short stories of exceptional merit. The award is named after the American master of the form, O. Henry....
for short fiction.
Early life and career
Born in Carrollton, MississippiCarrollton, Mississippi
Carrollton is a town in Carroll County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat of Carroll County. The population was 408 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Greenwood, Mississippi micropolitan area-Geography:...
, Spencer was valedictorian
Valedictorian
Valedictorian is an academic title conferred upon the student who delivers the closing or farewell statement at a graduation ceremony. Usually, the valedictorian is the highest ranked student among those graduating from an educational institution...
of her graduating class at local J.Z. George High School. She earned her Bachelor of Arts at Belhaven College
Belhaven College
Belhaven University is a private Christian liberal arts university located in Jackson, Mississippi. Founded by Dr. Lewis Fitzhugh and later donated to the now defunct Presbyterian Church in the United States, the school has been independently run by a Board of Trustees since 1972...
in Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
and her Master's Degree in Literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
at Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
in 1943.
Spencer taught at the junior-college level for two years before accepting a job with the Nashville Tennessean, but she soon returned to teaching, this time at the University of Mississippi
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...
in Oxford
Oxford, Mississippi
Oxford is a city in, and the county seat of, Lafayette County, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 1835, it was named after the British university city of Oxford in hopes of having the state university located there, which it did successfully attract....
. In 1953 she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
and left Mississippi to live in Italy and pursue writing full time.
In 1957, the fiction jury of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction recommended that she should be awarded that year's prize for her novel, The Voice at the Back Door, but the Pulitzer board, which has sole discretion for awarding the prize, made no award.
Personal life
While in Italy, she met and married John Rusher of Cornwall, England. The couple moved to Montreal, Canada in 1961, where they remained until moving to Chapel Hill, North CarolinaChapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care...
in 1986. She taught creative writing
Creative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...
at Concordia University
Concordia University
Concordia University is a comprehensive Canadian public university located in Montreal, Quebec, one of the two universities in the city where English is the primary language of instruction...
in Montreal, and at the University of North Carolina
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
until her retirement. Rusher died in 1998, and Spencer continues to live in Chapel Hill.
Spencer's mother is the great aunt of John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
.
Novels
- Fire in the Morning (1948)
- This Crooked Way (1952)
- The Voice at the Back Door (1956)
- The Light in the Piazza (1960)
- Knights and Dragons (1965)
- No Place for an Angel (1967)
- The Snare (1972)
- The Salt Line (1984)
- The Night Travellers (1991)
Short story collections
- Ship Island and Other Stories (1968)
- The Stories of Elizabeth Spencer (1981)
- Marilee (1981)
- Jack of Diamonds and Other Stories (1988)
- On the Gulf (1991)
- The Light in the Piazza and Other Italian Tales (1996)
- The Southern Woman (2001)