author
Alice A. Parmelee Morris
A late-19th-century American travel writer, she is remembered for a lively account of Japan that mixes curiosity, humor, and close observation. Her work offers a window into how one visitor tried to make sense of Japanese daily life for English-speaking readers of her time.
1 Audiobook
Dragons and Cherry Blossoms
by Alice A. Parmelee Morris
About the author
Alice A. Parmelee Morris is known for Dragons and Cherry Blossoms (1896), a travel book about Japan. Project Gutenberg lists that title under her name, and the Library of Congress and Internet Archive also identify her as the author, sometimes under the period style "Mrs. R. C. Morris."
The surviving public record in the sources I found is fairly thin, but her book clearly places her among American writers who introduced foreign travel and culture to readers at the end of the nineteenth century. In Dragons and Cherry Blossoms, she writes as an attentive visitor, noticing scenery, customs, social encounters, and the small practical details of travel as well as the romance of the journey.
Some catalog and reference pages connect her with the name Alice Parmelee and indicate that she published under her married name, but detailed biographical information is hard to confirm from reliable sources currently available online. What can be said with confidence is that her reputation today rests on this Japan travel narrative and its vivid, personal view of the country in the 1890s.