author
Amélie Rives
1863–1945
Best known for the scandalous bestseller The Quick or the Dead?, this Virginia-born writer became one of the most talked-about literary figures of the late 19th century. She wrote novels, poetry, and plays, and her dramatic public life kept readers fascinated for decades.
3 Audiobooks
Shadows of Flames: A Novel
by Amélie Rives
A brother to dragons, and other old-time tales
by Amélie Rives
Virginia of Virginia: A Story
by Amélie Rives
About the author
Born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1863, Amélie Rives grew up in a prominent family and spent much of her life connected to Castle Hill in Albemarle County. She emerged as a literary sensation in 1888 with The Quick or the Dead?, a novel whose bold treatment of female desire drew both outrage and enormous public attention.
Rives went on to write widely across genres, including fiction, poetry, and drama. Later known as Amélie Rives Troubetzkoy, she remained a vivid public figure as well as a productive author, with a career that stretched well beyond her early fame.
She died in Virginia in 1945. Today she is remembered not only for her bestselling debut, but also for the way her work and celebrity challenged the expectations placed on women writers of her time.