author
Virginia Terhune Van de Water
1865–1945
A prolific early-20th-century American writer, she moved easily between domestic advice, fiction, and etiquette. She also saw several of her stories adapted for film, giving her work a reach beyond the printed page.
1 Audiobook
Marion Harland's Complete Etiquette A Young People's Guide to Every Social Occasion
by Marion Harland, Virginia Terhune Van de Water
About the author
Virginia Terhune Van de Water (1865–1945) was an American writer best known for novels, household books, and etiquette guides. Reliable sources available here identify her as the daughter of the well-known author Mary Virginia Terhune, who wrote as Marion Harland, and note that writing ran strongly in the family.
Her published work ranged widely. Books linked to her name include From Kitchen to Garret, The Two Sisters, and Everyday Etiquette, showing how comfortably she wrote both practical nonfiction and storytelling. Sources also note that three of her stories were adapted to film: If My Country Should Call (1916), The Lesson (1917), and Two Sisters (1929).
That mix of everyday expertise and popular fiction helps explain her appeal. She wrote in forms that spoke directly to ordinary readers, whether they wanted guidance for daily life or a compelling story to follow.