5 facts about elizabeth george speare biography

Born 21 November 1908, Melrose, Massachusetts; died 14 November 1994

Daughter of Harry A. and Demetria Simmons George; married Alden Speare, 1936; children: son and a daughter

After graduation from college during the Depression, Elizabeth George Speare taught English in Massachusetts high schools for several years.

She married an industrial engineer and then settled in Wethersfield, Connecticut. Speare did little writing until her son and daughter were in their teens, when she began to do articles for women's magazines and an occasional story and play.

Two of Speare's books, The Witch of Blackbird Pond (1958) and The Bronze Bow (1961) received the Newbery Award.

While reading about the history of the Connecticut River valley, Speare came upon A Narrative of the Captivity of Mrs.

Johnson, the personal account of the actual experiences of Susanna Johnson during the French and Indian War. This pioneer woman and her family were taken by Indi