author
Mary Belle Freeley
Best known for Fair to Look Upon, this little-known writer left behind a lively, provocative take on women from the Bible and the expectations placed on them. Her work has drawn renewed attention for its wit and its quietly rebellious spirit.
1 Audiobook
Fair to Look Upon
by Mary Belle Freeley
About the author
Mary Belle Freeley is an elusive figure, and only a small amount about her life could be confirmed. Records connected with her burial identify her as Mary Belle “Chat” Honn Freeley McWilliams and note that she was a newspaper contributor in Illinois and Wisconsin as well as the author of Fair to Look Upon.
Her best-known work, Fair to Look Upon, is a short book centered on women of the Bible. Modern publishers have highlighted it as an unusually bold and thoughtful work for its time, especially in the way it questions narrow ideas about beauty, marriage, and women’s roles.
Because so little biographical information survives, part of Freeley’s appeal today is the mystery around her. What remains clear is that she wrote with confidence and curiosity, and that this one surviving book has been enough to keep her name in circulation for new generations of readers.