author

Elizabeth McCracken

b. 1876

Born in New Orleans on February 29, 1876, this American writer explored family life, childhood, and the changing roles of women in the early 20th century. Her books include The Women of America and The American Child, works that reflect a lively interest in everyday experience and social questions.

1 Audiobook

The American Child

The American Child

by Elizabeth McCracken

About the author

Elizabeth McCracken was an American author born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on February 29, 1876. Confirmed reference listings connect her with several early 20th-century books, including The Women of America (1904), The American Child (1913), An Anthology of Mother Verse (1917), and The Feminine in Fiction (1918).

Her published work suggests a writer drawn to big subjects through familiar human experience: women’s lives, children, motherhood, and literary representation. Even just from the titles, her books show an interest in how American society was changing and how women and family life were being discussed in print.

Reliable biographical detail beyond her birth and bibliography is limited in the sources found here, so much of her personal life remains unclear. What does come through clearly is her place among the women writers and commentators who helped shape conversations about American life in the decades before and after World War I.