Clara Louise Burnham

Clara Louise Burnham (Root; May 25, 1854 – June 20, 1927) was an American novelist. After the success of No Gentlemen (1881), other books followed, including A Sane Lunatic (1882), Dearly Bought (1884), Next Door (1886), Young Maids and Old (1888), The Mistress of Beech Knoll (1890), and Miss Bagg's Secretary (1892). The daughter of George Frederick Root, she wrote the text for several his most successful cantatas. The 1923 film, A Chapter in Her Life is based on Burnham's 1903 novel Jewel: A Chapter in Her Life. Born in Massachusetts, she died at the family home in Maine in 1927.
Early life and education
Clara Louise Root was born in Newton, Massachusetts, May 25, 1854. She was one of six children, and the oldest daughter of Dr. George Frederick Root, the musical composer, and the former Mary Woodman. Her father, becoming the senior partner of the Chicago firm of Root & Cady, removed with his family to that city when Burnham was very young, and Chicago was her home thereafter. A return for several summers to the old homestead in North Reading, Massachusetts, together with the memory of the first years of her life, gave her an acquaintance with New England dialect and character, which she used later in her work. As a girl, she chiefly pursued music.
Career
Burnham married while she was still very young. Shortly after her marriage, a brother, who enjoyed reading her letters, urged her to write a story. The brother persisted for months, and at last, in order to show him the absurdity of his request, she began writing. To Burnham's surprise, her attitude soon changed. She wrote two novelettes and paid to have them critiqued by the reader of a publishing house, keeping her identity unknown. The response was unfavorable, the reader going so far as to say that, if the author were of middle age, she would better abandon all hope of success as a writer. Burnham, not being "of middle age," was as reluctant to stop writing as she had previously been to take it up. Recalling her lifelong ability for rhyming, she wrote some poems for children, which were accepted and published by Wide Awake, and that success fixed her determination.
She wrote No Gentlemen (Chicago, 1881) and offered it to a Chicago publisher. He examined it, said it would be an unsafe first book, and advised her to go home and write another. The author's father, who until that time had not regarded her work seriously, liked No Gentlemen and believed in it. Through his interest, the book immediately found a publisher, and its success was instantaneous. Other books followed including, A Sane Lunatic (Chicago, 1882), Dearly Bought (Chicago, 1884), Next Door (Boston, 1886), Young Maids and Old (Boston, 1888), The Mistress of Beech Knoll (Boston, 1890), and Miss Bagg's Secretary (Boston, 1892). Besides her novels, Burnham wrote the text for several of Root's most successful cantatas, and contributed many poems and stories to The Youth's Companion, St. Nicholas Magazine, and Wide Awake. The 1923 film, A Chapter in Her Life is based on Burnham's novel Jewel: A Chapter in Her Life.
Personal life
Burnham had no children and she resided with her father. In addition to her writing, she was a cultured pianist. In religion, she affiliated with Christian Science.
Clara Louise Burnham died at the family home at Casco Bay, Bailey Island, Maine, June 20, 1927.
Selected works
The right princess; a play [in three acts]
A sane lunatic, 1882
We, Von Arldens, 1882
Dearly bought : a novel, 1884
The waifs' Christmas : a Christmas cantata for children, 1886 (with G. F. Root)
Flower praise : a floral service for festive occasions such as children's day, flower Sunday, Easter, anniversaries, etc. especially adapted to the children of the Sunday school, 1886 (with G. F. Root)
Snow-White and the seven dwarfs, a juvenile operetta in four scenes. Words by Clara Louise Burnham. Music by Geo. F. Root, 1888
A sane lunatic, 1889
Santa Claus and Co. A Christmas cantata for children, 1889
The last days of George F. Root, 189?
Miss Bagg's secretary : a West Point romance, 1892
The mistress of Beech Knoll, a novel, 1893
Sweet Clover : a romance of the White City, 1894
Kate's wise woman, 1896
S., 1896
Miss Archer Archer, 1897
The bundle of sticks : a Christmas cantata for children, 19-- (with G. F. Root)
Next door, 190-
Miss Pritchard's wedding trip : a novel, 1901
Jewel; a chapter in her life, by Clara Louise Burnham; with illustrations by Maude and Genevieve Cowles ..., 1903
The right princess, 1904
The Quest Flower ... With illustrations in color by Anna Milo Upjohn, 1908
How to keep your child from fear, 1909
The Opened Shutters. A novel, etc., 1909
Flutterfly, 1910
The right princess, 191-
Clever Betsy. A novel ... With illustrations by Rose O'Neill, 1910
The leaven of love : a novel, 1912
The Inner Flame : a novel, 1912
Cupid's trap, 1912
The Golden Dog ... Illustrated by Frank Aveline, 1913
The right track, 1914
The mistress of Beech Knoll : a novel, 1918
In apple-blossom time : a fairy-tale to date, 1919
Hearts' Haven. A novel, etc., 1919
Dr. Latimer; a story of Casco Bay, 1921
The queen of Farrandale : a novel, 1923
The lavarons : a novel, 1925
Tobey's First Case. A novel, 1926
Young Maids and Old
No Gentlemen
References
Bibliography
External links
1854 births
1927 deaths
19th-century American novelists
19th-century American women writers
Writers from Newton, Massachusetts
American women novelists
Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century