author
Mary Synon
1881–1987
A Chicago writer and teacher, she moved easily between fiction, civic writing, and drama. Her work reached magazine readers, film audiences, and students over a long career that stretched across much of the 20th century.
1 Audiobook
My country's part
by Mary Synon
About the author
Born in Chicago in 1881, Mary Synon built a varied writing career that included fiction, nonfiction, and educational books. Her short story None So Blind, published in Harper's Magazine in 1917, was chosen for Best Short Stories of 1917, showing the reach her magazine work had early on.
She also wrote books such as My Country's Part and McAdoo, the Man and His Times, and her story "The Innocent Sinner" was adapted for a 1917 silent film. Alongside her writing, she was active in drama education in Chicago, where biographical film sources report that she ran the Mary Synon School of Dramatic Arts for more than 40 years and taught at Mercy High School.
Synon died in Naperville, Illinois, in 1987. What stands out about her life is its range: she was not only a published author, but also a teacher and mentor who helped bring literature and performance into everyday life for her readers and students.