Esther forbes biography
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Forbes, Esther
Born 28 June , Westborough, Massachusetts; died 12 August , Worcester, Massachusetts
Daughter of William T. and Harriette Merrifield Forbes; married Albert L. Hoskins, (divorced)
Esther Forbes was the youngest of five children; her father was a judge, her mother a historian. She graduated from Bradford Academy in and studied at the University of Wisconsin () before serving as a farmhand in Virginia in response to the war effort. Returning to New England, she became an editor from until her marriage.
During her marriage, Forbes traveled extensively abroad and continued to write. At the time of her divorce in , she had already made a literary reputation as a historical novelist with O Genteel Lady! () and A Mirror for Witches (). The height of her fame came in the s when she won first the Pulitzer Prize in History for Paul Revere and the World He Lived In () and then the Newbery Medal for Johnny Tremain: A Novel for Young and Old (). Forbes was the
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Esther Forbes
Born
in Westborough, Massachusetts , The United StatesJune 28,
Died
August 12,
Genre
Children's Books, Historical Fiction, Fiction
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Esther Forbes was born in Westboro, Massachusetts in , as the youngest of five children. Her family roots can be traced back to s America; one of her great-uncles was the great historical figure and leader of the Sons of Liberty, Sam Adams. Her father was a probate judge in Worcester and her mother, a writer of New England reference books. Both her parents were historical enthusiasts.
Even as a little child, Forbes displayed an affinity for writing. Her academic work, however, was not spectacular, except for a few writing classes. After finishing high school, she took classes at the Worcester Art Museum and Boston University, and later, Bradford Academy, a junior college. She then followed her sister to the University of Wisconsin whEsther Forbes was born in Westboro, Massachusetts in , as the youngest of f
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Esther Forbes
Esther Louise Forbes (June 28, – August 12, ) was an American novelist, historian and children's writer who received the Pulitzer Prize and the Newbery Medal. She was born in Westborough, MA, on June 28, , the fifth of the six children of William Trowbridge Forbes and Harriette Merrifield. Her first short story entitled "Breakneck Hill," was published in the Grinnell Review. It won the Award for short stories in
In she worked for Houghton Mifflin as a typist but was soon transferred to another position reading unsolicited manuscripts, as apparently she couldn't spell. She married Albert L. Hoskins, Jr., an attorney, on January 14, , and left Houghton Mifflin. The couple moved to New York City. Her first novel, O Genteel Lady! was published in and was selected as the second book for the Book of the Month Club, guaranteeing over 12, copies sold. In , she and Albert Hoskins divorced. Although she retained her married name, she wrote under her maiden name, Esther