Opal Stanley Whiteley

Born in 1897, Opal Stanley Whiteley grew up in the Pacific Northwest and became famous while still young for The Story of Opal, a diary presented as the childhood writings of an exceptionally imaginative girl. The book drew wide attention for its vivid voice, deep feeling for nature, and unusual account of life in rural Oregon.

Whiteley’s story was surrounded by controversy almost from the start, as readers and scholars argued over when and how the diary was written. Even so, her work has continued to fascinate people for generations, not only as a literary curiosity but also as a portrait of a gifted and complicated life.

She spent much of her later life in England and died in London in 1992. Today, she is remembered as a mysterious and singular American writer whose name remains closely tied to one of the most debated memoirs of the 20th century.