author
1884–1949
A Baltimore teacher with a sharp eye and a playful style, she turned local history into something lively, witty, and easy to love. Her best-known work looks at the city with affection, humor, and a strong sense of place.

by Letitia Stockett
Maria Letitia Stockett was a Baltimore author, poet, and longtime English teacher. Sources about her life consistently describe her as a teacher at Friends School in Baltimore, and her best-known book, Baltimore: A Not Too Serious History, was first published in 1928.
She also wrote America, First, Fast & Furious and a poetry collection, The Hoofs of Pegasus. Modern editions of Baltimore note that she set out to write a more spirited, approachable history of the city, and that warm, anecdotal tone is a big part of why the book has lasted.
Available biographical records indicate that she was born in Baltimore in 1884 and died in 1949. The surviving portrait material I could confirm from pages reviewed in this conversation did not provide a clear, usable author photo, so no profile image is included here.