author
Frances Leigh Williams
A Virginia writer and historian, she brought the people and places of the American South to life in biographies, local history, and historical fiction for younger readers. Her books ranged from Richmond landmarks to major figures such as Matthew Fontaine Maury and Eliza Lucas Pinckney.
1 Audiobook
A Tour of Historic Richmond
by Frances Leigh Williams
About the author
Born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1909, she was the daughter of Francis Deane and Mary Mason Williams and a cousin of novelist Ellen Glasgow. After college, she worked for the Richmond News Leader and later served as a research assistant to editor and historian Douglas Southall Freeman.
Her writing centered on Southern history and biography. Among her books are A Tour of Historic Richmond, Matthew Fontaine Maury: Scientist of the Sea, Ocean Pathfinder, Plantation Patriot: A Biography of Eliza Lucas Pinckney, and A Founding Family: The Pinckneys of South Carolina. She also wrote fiction and historical books for younger readers.
She died in 1978. Taken together, her work reflects a strong interest in Virginia, the wider South, and the lives of people who shaped early American history.