author
Ruth Comfort Mitchell
1882–1954
A California writer with a gift for poetry, drama, and fiction, she built a long career that stretched from newspaper publication as a teenager to novels and plays on the national stage. She is especially remembered for the novel Of Human Kindness and for writing under her maiden name even after marriage.
4 Audiobooks
Jane Journeys On
by Ruth Comfort Mitchell
Corduroy
by Ruth Comfort Mitchell
The Wishing Carpet
by Ruth Comfort Mitchell
Play the Game!
by Ruth Comfort Mitchell
About the author
Born in San Francisco on July 21, 1882, she grew up with close ties to Los Gatos, where her family spent summers and later lived. Her first poem was published when she was still a teenager, and she went on to write poetry, plays, and novels over several decades.
She published as Ruth Comfort Mitchell, though she was also known after marriage as Ruth Comfort Mitchell Young or Mrs. Sanborn Young. Her work ranged across genres, and she became best known for the novel Of Human Kindness. Records of her writings also show earlier books such as The Night Court, and Other Verse, which reflects her start as a poet before her later fiction and stage work.
She died in Los Gatos on February 18, 1954. Today, she is remembered as a versatile American author and playwright whose career linked California literary life with the wider publishing and theater world.