Clara Louise Burnham

Born in Newton, Massachusetts, on May 25, 1854, she was the daughter of composer George F. Root and spent much of her life in Chicago. She married Walter Burnham in 1873 and began publishing fiction in the 1880s, quickly finding success with readers.

Over the course of her career, she wrote dozens of novels, often centered on domestic life, personal change, and moral choices. Among her best-known books are No Gentlemen (1881), A Sane Lunatic (1882), Dearly Bought (1884), Jewel (1903), and The Opened Shutters (1914).

Her popularity lasted for many years, and some of her stories were adapted for film. She died on June 20, 1927, in Bailey Island, Maine, leaving behind a substantial body of popular American fiction.