author
Mary E. (Mary Ellen) Bamford
1857–1946
An Oakland writer with a strong sense of place, she published fiction, stories for young readers, and books shaped by California life in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Her work ranges from animal stories to historical and missionary fiction, showing a career that was both varied and deeply rooted in her time.
1 Audiobook
Out of the Triangle: A Story of the Far East
by Mary E. (Mary Ellen) Bamford
About the author
Mary Ellen Bamford was an American writer born in Healdsburg, California, on December 10, 1857. She was educated in Oakland’s public schools and also worked for several years at the Oakland Free Public Library before focusing on writing. Sources consistently describe her as a prolific author connected with Oakland for much of her life.
Her published work covered a wide range of subjects. Bibliographic records and public-domain catalogs list titles including Father Lambert's Family, Number One or Number Two, Ti: A Story of San Francisco's Chinatown, and Out of the Triangle. She also wrote nature- and animal-centered books such as Thoughts of My Dumb Neighbors and Talks by Queer Folks, which helped give her writing a broad appeal.
Bamford died on May 21, 1946. Although she is not widely known today, many of her books remain accessible through library and public-domain collections, which makes her an interesting rediscovery for listeners curious about overlooked American writers from California.