author
Katherine M. (Katherine Merritte) Yates
1865–1951
A Canadian-American writer of children's books, she also published imaginative and sometimes eerie fiction under more than one name. Her life stretched from Ontario to Chicago and Honolulu, and that wide range of experience shows in the unusual mix of spiritual, adventurous, and fantastic themes in her work.
1 Audiobook
By the Roadside
by Katherine M. (Katherine Merritte) Yates
About the author
Born Katherine Merritte Snyder in Drumbo, Ontario, on November 12, 1865, she later became known as Katherine M. Yates. She was a Canadian-American writer remembered mainly for children's books, though she also wrote under the names Katherine P. Mayhew and E. E. Steven or Stevens.
Her work ranged from moral and imaginative tales for young readers to stranger stories with touches of fantasy and horror. She lived in Honolulu from 1910 to 1942, a long stay that set her apart from many mainland writers of her era and adds an interesting backdrop to her career.
Yates died on October 25, 1951. Today she is a curiosity worth rediscovering: a prolific early 20th-century author whose books and stories move between children's literature, spiritual themes, and the uncanny.