Mary Lee, 1891-1982

Mary Lee was born in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, on December 10, 1891, the eldest child of Francis Wilson and Marion (Dove) Lee. Lee had a brother, Guy (1894-1953) and three sisters: Isabella (1895-1970), Susan (1897-1972), and Alice (1899-1988). Her early education took place at the Chestnut Hill School and Miss Winsor's School in Boston; she later received a stenographer's diploma in 1913 from Bryant & Stratton Business College in Boston. Lee attended Radcliffe College, graduating magna cum laude in 1917, with a B.A. degree in government, history, and economics. After graduating, Lee joined the American Red Cross as a secretary in Washington, D.C., in the spring of 1917. She then joined the Base Hospital Number 6 ( Massachusetts General Hospital Unit) staff of the American Expeditionary Forces (A.E.F.), and was shipped to France, working at a hospital in Petit Lycée de Talence outside Bordeaux. To move closer to the war effort, Lee transferred to the headquarters of the American Air Service in Paris as a secretary in January 1918. Her office was responsible for buying airplanes from the French government for use by United States pilots. In the fall of that same year, Lee joined the American YMCA as a canteen worker in the Zone of Advance at the First Air Depot at Colombey-les-Belles, near Toul . She became ill and after several weeks in a hospital, went on sick leave to the Riviera. After the Armistice, a recovered Lee went to Germany with the Army of Occupation, serving in different places in the American Bridgehead, across the Rhine River from Koblence. She eventually ended up with the First Division and returned home in July 1919, marching with them in parades in New York City and Washington, D.C.

After the war, Lee returned to Radcliffe College, receiving her M.A. in government, history, and economics in 1920. She moved to New York City, working as a member of the city staff of the New York Evening Post for three years as the only woman among six reporters. With her knowledge of French and German, Lee was often sent to the harbor to meet boats, interviewing famous people including Arthur Balfour, Lord Beatty, Stanley Baldwin, Margot Asquith, Lady Astor, among others as they arrived onshore. While in New York, Lee lived in Greenwich House, a settlement house, doing social work in her evening hours and on weekends. In 1923 she traveled to Greece, Italy, France, and England, with her mother and one of her sisters, studying archaeology and acting as foreign correspondent for the New York Evening Post . She left the job after the 1923 collapse of the newspaper.

After living in New York City as a journalist for almost 5 years, Lee moved back to Chestnut Hill in 1925 to live with her mother. Lee wrote historical and biographical sketches for school readers published by the Atlantic Monthly Press and began writing a book based on her wartime experiences. She spent two years writing the book, working between the family home in Chestnut Hill and their summer estate in Westport, New York, where the Lee family had been vacationing for 90 years. The book was completed in 1927, initially titled, The Farce . It was rejected by numerous publishers, until she changed the name of the book to "It's a Great War!" and entered it into a best war novel competition, sponsored by the American Legion Monthly and Houghton, Mifflin and Company. She won half of the $25,000 prize (divided between her and a male author) and the novel was published the following year, selling over 30,000 copies in the United States and England. It was translated into Polish, Spanish, and Dutch. The book was also translated into German, but not published due to the rise of the Hitler regime. Lee received hundreds of fan letters from veterans, civilians, and even prisoners, congratulating her on having written the truth about the war. She claimed the book was not a diary (diaries were forbidden while serving overseas), but that everything in it was true, except that some events happened to her and others to people she knew during the war. The book was also mentioned as a potential for the Pulitzer Prize in the spring of 1930. She did not receive the award, but it was rumored that year's announcement was late because of the committee arguing over her book.

Lee continued to freelance between 1927 and 1940, contributing to the New York Times' special features section and Sunday Magazine and other publications, writing articles on dog sledding, skiing, horseback riding, and a series on women's colleges. During 1936 and 1937, Lee wrote The History of Chestnut Hill Chapel, published in 1937 by the History Committee of the First Church in Chestnut Hill . A history of the church, the book was also an early history of the Chestnut Hill district of Newton, Massachusetts. It provided opportunities for Lee to present papers and deliver speeches to groups interested in local history. During World War II, Lee worked with the Greek War Relief Association, serving as executive secretary for two years, and received the Royal Hellenic Order of the Phoenix medal from King Paul of Greece for her work. She also supported the war effort by working as a day laborer at Hood Rubber Company in Watertown, Massachusetts, making de-icers for D-46 planes and with the Red Cross in Westport, New York. Throughout her life, Lee was involved in community causes, serving as the first director of the Widows' Society in Boston, member of the Radcliffe College chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, National Birth Control League of Massachusetts, and other organizations. She was also physically active, skiing, hiking, and horseback riding until late in her life, before passing away in 1982.

From the guide to the Papers of Mary Lee, (inclusive), (bulk), 1834-1982, 1915-1949, (Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute)