Myrtle Reed

Born in Chicago in 1874, she grew up in a literary family and went on to become a widely read American novelist, poet, and journalist. Her fiction was especially popular in the early 1900s, with books such as Lavender and Old Lace helping build her reputation for gentle humor, romance, and domestic detail.

She also wrote cookbooks under the pseudonym Olive Green, showing a practical, everyday side alongside her literary work. In 1906, after a long courtship, she married Canadian editor James Sydney McCullough.

Her life was short—she died in Chicago in 1911 at just 36—but her books remained well known enough to stay in circulation long afterward. Readers who enjoy tender, old-fashioned storytelling often find her work charming and comforting.