Petry, Ann, 1908-1997

Writer Ann Petry grew up in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, the youngest of three daughers born to Peter and Bertha James Lane. She earned a degree in pharmacy from Connecticut College of Pharmacy in 1931 and worked for several years in the family pharmacy. Her aunt, Anna Louise James, was the first African American woman licensed pharmacist in Connecticut. In 1938 she married George D. Petry and they moved to Harlem where she completed a novel entitled The Street, based upon her experiences there. Published in 1946, The Street won the Houghton Mifflin Literary Fellowship and went on to sell over a million copies. Petry returned to Old Saybrook, publishing The Narrows (1953), Miss Muriel and Other Stories (1971) and a number of children's books, including Tituba of Salem Village (1955). She had a daughter, Elisabeth.

From the description of Papers of Ann Petry, 1938-2000 (inclusive), 1973-2000 (bulk). (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 756504152