author
Dorothy Dix
1861–1951
A pioneering newspaper voice, she helped invent the modern advice column and turned everyday worries about love, marriage, and ambition into sharp, readable journalism. Her work reached millions of readers and made “Dorothy Dix” one of the best-known pen names in America.
1 Audiobook
Dorothy Dix—her book : Every-day help for every-day people
by Dorothy Dix
About the author
Born Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer in Tennessee in 1861, she became famous under the pen name Dorothy Dix. She wrote for the New Orleans Picayune, where her women’s pages and advice writing found a huge audience, and she later became widely syndicated across the United States.
Often described as a forerunner of today’s advice columnists, she built her reputation by answering readers’ questions with a mix of sympathy, practicality, and firm common sense. By the time of her death in 1951, she was widely remembered as one of the most read and best paid female journalists of her era.
Her name is still closely linked with the rise of personal advice journalism. For many readers, Dorothy Dix made the newspaper feel personal: a place where private troubles, especially about relationships and family life, could be talked about openly and clearly.