author
Mae M. Franking
b. 1890
Best known for the memoir My Chinese Marriage, this early-20th-century writer told a striking personal story about love across cultures at a time when such relationships drew public attention and prejudice. Her book is also remembered because it was the first published book associated with Katherine Anne Porter.
1 Audiobook
My Chinese Marriage
by Mae M. Franking, Katherine Anne Porter
About the author
Born in 1890, Mae M. Franking is chiefly known for My Chinese Marriage, published in 1921. The book presents her account of marrying a Chinese man and living between cultures, making it a rare personal narrative from its moment and a vivid window into social attitudes of the period.
Her name has stayed in print largely through that one book, which later appeared in an annotated edition from the University of Texas Press. That edition notes the work's connection to Katherine Anne Porter, who was involved in bringing the book to print, and it helped renew interest in Franking's life and story.
Reliable biographical details about Franking are limited in the sources I could confirm here. A memorial record identifies her as Mae Munro Watkins Franking and gives her lifespan as 1890–1926, but beyond that, the clearest verified picture is of a woman whose personal experience became an unusual and lasting memoir.