author
Ada Woodruff Anderson
1860–1956
Drawn to the forests, towns, and changing frontier of the Pacific Northwest, this early 20th-century novelist turned regional landscapes into vivid fiction. Her best-known books include The Heart of the Red Firs, The Strain of White, and The Rim of the Desert.
2 Audiobooks
The Rim of the Desert
by Ada Woodruff Anderson
The Heart of the Red Firs: A Story of the Pacific Northwest
by Ada Woodruff Anderson
About the author
Born in 1860 and remembered as a Pacific Northwest novelist, she wrote fiction rooted in the landscapes and communities of Washington and the wider Northwest. Archival records describe her as the author of The Heart of the Red Firs, The Rim of the Desert, and The Strain of White.
Her work has remained accessible through public-domain collections, including Project Gutenberg and Wikisource, where several of her books can still be read today. That continued availability has helped preserve her place among regional American writers whose stories captured a distinct sense of place.
Archival material also connects her life to Bainbridge Island, where she and her husband, Oliver Phelps Anderson, were involved in a photographic supply business. Even in brief biographical traces, she stands out as a writer who helped turn the Pacific Northwest into memorable fiction.