author
Bertha Runkle
1879–1958
Best known for a breakout historical adventure that became both a bestseller and a Broadway play, this American writer brought page-turning energy to stories of the past. Her fiction and stage work helped make her a memorable literary success of the early 1900s.
1 Audiobook
The Helmet of Navarre
by Bertha Runkle
About the author
Born in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, Bertha Runkle was an American novelist and playwright from a literary family. Reliable biographical sources describe her as the author of five novels, with her first and most famous book, The Helmet of Navarre (1901), quickly establishing her reputation.
That novel’s success reached beyond print: it was adapted for the stage and became a Broadway play. Runkle is often remembered for her gift for lively historical storytelling, especially in romantic adventure fiction set against dramatic moments from the past.
She later married and was also known as Bertha Runkle Bash. Although she is not as widely read today as some of her contemporaries, The Helmet of Navarre remains the work most closely associated with her name.