author
Sue Petigru Bowen
1824–1875
A sharp, witty 19th-century novelist from Charleston, she wrote fiction that quietly challenged the social rules of the Southern elite. Her novels mix romance, satire, and a clear-eyed look at the limits placed on women in her time.
1 Audiobook
The Actress in High Life An Episode in Winter Quarters
by Sue Petigru Bowen
About the author
Born in Charleston on October 23, 1824, Susan Dupont Petigru King-Bowen was the daughter of lawyer James Louis Petigru. Educated in Charleston and Philadelphia, she grew up in a prominent South Carolina family and became known for an independent mind and lively intelligence.
Writing under the name Susan Petigru King, she published Busy Moments of an Idle Woman (1853), Lily: A Novel (1855), Sylvia’s World: Crimes Which the Law Does Not Reach (1859), and Gerald Gray’s Wife (1864). Her fiction is remembered for its realism, humor, and its often daring portrayal of Charleston society, especially the pressures of class, marriage, and women’s roles.
She died on December 11, 1875. Today, she is often recognized as an important Southern voice whose novels looked past polite manners to the deeper tensions of her world.