
author
1894–1985
Remembered for warm, keenly observed novels about family life, she built a loyal readership with stories that mixed domestic drama, wit, and moral questions. Born in England to American parents, she went on to become a popular Anglo-American novelist and memoirist.

by Susan Ertz
Born in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, on February 13, 1887, she was the daughter of American parents Charles and Mary Ertz. Before turning fully to fiction, she served as a nurse during World War I, an experience that shaped the memoir Anger in the Sky.
She became known for novels centered on family ties, love, loss, and the quiet tensions of everyday life. Her best-known works include Madame Claire, The Proselyte, and In the Cool of the Day, and her writing was often described as graceful, humane, and sharply observant.
Although your note lists 1894–1985, the biographical sources I found give her dates as February 13, 1887 to April 11, 1985. She spent much of her life between Britain and the United States, and her long career left behind a substantial body of popular fiction.