Spencer, Cornelia, 1899-1994

Grace Sydenstricker Yaukey (1899-1994) was an American author of short stories and books, most of which were for children, about the history and culture of China and other Asian countries, among other topics. She was born in China to missionary parents and began writing for publication after she moved to the United States at age 35. Under the pen name Cornelia Spencer, she wrote books for children on political leaders and cultural revolutions. She also produced two biographies of her sister, the Nobel Prize-winning novelist Pearl S. Buck.

Grace Sydenstricker Yaukey was born on May 12, 1899 in Chinkiang, China, the daughter of missionaries Absalom and Caroline (Stulting) Yaukey. She spent much of her life in China; it was not until her return to the United States in 1935 that she began writing. Her first works, short stories about China, were published in Asia magazine. Using the pen name Cornelia Spencer, Yaukey wrote more than thirty books, mostly for children, focused on the history and culture of China and other Asian countries. She also wrote on a variety of revolutions, both political and industrial, in the East and the West. She produced as well two biographies on her sister, the Nobel Prize-winning novelist Pearl. S. Buck.

Grace S. Yaukey received her B.A. from Maryville College in 1922 and her M.A. from Columbia University in 1930. She married a missionary, Jesse Baer Yaukey, and together they raised three children: Raymond, David, and Jean.

Her published works include Three Sisters (1938), China Trader (an adult novel, 1940), Elizabeth, England's Modern Queen (1941), Made in China (1943), The Exile's Daughter: A Biography of Pearl S. Buck (1944), The Land of the Chinese People (1945), Made in India (1946), The Missionary (an adult novel, 1947), Let's Read About China (1948), Japan (1948), Nehru of India (1948), Straight Furrow: The Biography of Harry S. Truman for Young People (1949), Understanding the Japanese (1949), Seven Thousand Islands: The Story of the Philippines (1951), Romulo: Voice of Freedom (1953), More Hands for Man: The Story of the Industrial Revolution (1960), The Song in the Streets: A Brief History of the French Revolution (1960), Claim to Freedom (1962), How Art and Music Speak to Us (1963), The Yangtze: China's River Highway (1963), Made in Japan (1963), Ancient China (1964), Pearl S. Buck: Revealing the Human Heart (1964), Keeping Ahead of Machines: The Human Side of the Automation Revolution (1965), China's Leaders in Ideas and Actions (1966), Sun Yat-Sen: Founder of the Chinese Republic (1967), Chiang Kai-Shek: Generalissimo of Nationalist China (1968), and Modern China, (1969).

Grace Yaukey was a member of Authors Guild, Authors League of America, Society of Women Geographers, Children's Book Guild (Washington, D.C.), and the East and West Association (Washington branch).

Grace Sydenstricker Yaukey died on May 3, 1994, of a heart attack in Sandy Spring, Maryland.

(Source: Gale Literary Databases. "Grace S(ydenstricker) Yaukey." Contemporary Authors. 2 October 2003. 22 June, 2005.)