Maud Hart Lovelace

On her fifth birthday, Maud Hart Lovelace's fate was sealed: she met the girl who would become her best friend and provide material for the beloved "Betsy-Tacy" books she would later write. Born in 1892 in Mankato, Minnesota, Lovelace chronicled the childhood adventures she and her friends experienced - making "everything pudding," cutting their own hair and venturing into town. After high school, Lovelace began classes at the University of Minnesota, but later left, citing health reasons. Although she was engaged several times to a man named Russell McCord, she ended up marrying Delos Lovelace, a fellow writer. Lovelace published several articles in her early adult life, including "Her Story," which appeared in Minnesota Magazine in 1912, and "Number Eight," which appeared in the Los Angeles Times Sunday Magazine. In 1921, the Lovelaces moved to New York, and in 1931, they welcomed the birth of their daughter. In 1953, they moved again to Claremont, California, where both Maud and Delos were involved with the Civil Rights Movement and founded an Episcopalian church. Although she never returned to live in Minnesota, Lovelace published several books set in her home state, including her first book, "The Black Angels", a historical novel. Lovelace's famous "Betsy-Tacy" books were also set in her girlhood hometown and proved to be quite successful. Lovelace died in 1980 and is buried in Glenwood Cemetery in Mankato.

Biographical Source: Minnesota Writers Hall of Fame http://mnwritershalloffame.com/details.php?recordID=7

From the guide to the Lovelace, Maud Hart Papers, 2011, (University of Minnesota. Children's Literature Research Collections. [clrc])