Elizabeth W. (Elizabeth Williams) Champney

Born in Springfield, Ohio, on February 6, 1850, Elizabeth Williams Champney studied at Vassar College and graduated in 1869 as part of the school’s early years. She went on to build a busy literary career that included novels, stories for younger readers, and travel writing.

Much of her work drew on travel and on an interest in life beyond the United States. Her articles appeared in major magazines including Harper’s and The Century, and many of her books were set in foreign locations. Readers came to know her especially through the Vassar Girls series and the Witch Winnie books, which mixed adventure, humor, and a strong sense of place.

Champney was also connected to the art world through her marriage to the painter James Wells Champney. She died on October 13, 1922, in Seattle, Washington, leaving behind a large and varied body of work that helped shape popular reading for girls and general audiences in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.