Wolff, Ruth, 1932-

Born in Malden, Massachusetts in 1932, Ruth Wolff began writing for the stage in the late 1950s. Best known for her biographical plays concerning the lives of women, her work delved into the history of figures such as Christina, Queen of Sweden (The Abdication), Sarah Bernhardt (Sarah in America), Empress Dowager Cixi (Empress of China), George Sand (Frederic and George), Edith Wilson (The Second Mrs. Wilson), and many others. She also wrote the screenplays for the film adaptation of The Abdication (1974) and another life of Bernhardt, The Incredible Sarah (1976). Many of her plays were published in the collections Notable Women – and a Few Equally Notable Men and From Faustina to the Fall of Athens