Augusta Huiell Seaman

Born in New York City in 1879, Augusta Huiell Seaman was an American writer of children’s literature best known for mysteries for young readers. She studied at what later became Hunter College and taught elementary school before turning to writing more fully.

Seaman began publishing in magazines and went on to write many novels for children, especially mysteries centered on capable girls who investigate strange houses, old secrets, and puzzling disappearances. Her best-known books include The Boarded-Up House and other early twentieth-century adventures that made her a popular name with young mystery fans.

She died in 1950. Although she is less widely known today than some later writers in the genre, her work is often remembered as an important early influence on girls’ mystery fiction.