Dorothy Canfield Fisher
Encyclopedia
Dorothy Canfield Fisher (February 17, 1879 – November 9, 1958) was an educational reformer, social activist, and best-selling American author in the early decades of the twentieth century. She was named by Eleanor Roosevelt
as one of the ten most influential women in the United States
. Dorothy Canfield worked with Maria Montessori
when in Rome
in 1911-12, wrote A Montessori Mother (1912) and brought the Montessori method of child-rearing to the United States. She wrote Why Stop Learning? (1927) and presided over the country's first adult education
program, and shaped literary tastes by serving as a member of the Book of the Month Club
selection committee from 1925 to 1951.
Her best-known work today is probably Understood Betsy
, a children's book about a little orphan
ed girl who is sent to live with her cousins in Vermont
. Though the book can be read purely for pleasure, it also describes a school
house which is run much in the style of the Montessori method, for which Canfield was one of the first and most vocal advocates. Dorothy Canfield also wrote The Bent Twig (1915), Home Fires in France (1918), The Day of Glory (1919), The Brimming Cup (1921) and The Home-Maker (1924), which was reprinted by Persephone Books
in 1999. Later novels are Her Son's Wife (1926), The Deepening Stream (1930), Seasoned Timber (1939). A collection of 17 of her stories was Four Square (1949).
, on February 17, 1879. Her father was James Hulme Canfield
, a college professor at the University of Kansas
and the University of Nebraska, and president of Ohio State University
; her mother, Flavia Camp, was an artist and writer. However, Canfield is most closely associated with Vermont
, where she spent her adult life, and which served as the setting for many of her books.
In 1899 Dorothy Canfield received a B.A. from Ohio State University. She was also a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma
. Canfield went on to study Romance languages
at Columbia University
and in 1904 received a doctoral degree
there; Corneille and Racine in English (1904). With G. R. Carpenter from Columbia she co-wrote English Rhetoric and Composition (1906). She was the first woman to receive an honorary degree
from Dartmouth College
, and also received honorary degrees from the University of Nebraska, Middlebury
, Swarthmore
, Smith
, Williams
, Ohio State University, and the University of Vermont
. She spoke five languages fluently, and in addition to writing novels, short stories, memoirs, and educational works, she forayed into literary criticism
and translation
.
In 1907 she married John Redwood Fisher, and together they had two children, a son and a daughter. Another concern of Dorothy Canfield was her war work. She followed her husband to France
in 1916 during World War I
, and worked with blinded soldiers. She also established a convalescent home for refugee French children from the invaded areas. William Lyon Phelps
comments, "All her novels are autobiographical, being written exclusively out of her own experience and observation."
Her son James became a surgeon and captain in the U.S. Army during World War II. He served with the Alamo Scouts
for three months at the end of 1944, following which he was attached to a Ranger
unit which carried out the raid to free POW
s imprisoned at Cabanatuan
in the Philippines
. The raid was a great success, with the Rangers suffering only two fatalities. Captain Fisher was one, mortally wounded by a mortar shell. As he lay dying the next day, his last words were "Did we get them all out?"
Fisher died at the age of 79, in Arlington, Vermont, in 1958.
The Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award
, named after her, is a unique award for new American children's books, as the winner is chosen by the vote of child readers.
A dormitory at Goddard College
in Plainfield, Vermont
, is named for Fisher.
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
as one of the ten most influential women in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Dorothy Canfield worked with Maria Montessori
Maria Montessori
Maria Montessori was an Italian physician and educator, a noted humanitarian and devout Catholic best known for the philosophy of education which bears her name...
when in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in 1911-12, wrote A Montessori Mother (1912) and brought the Montessori method of child-rearing to the United States. She wrote Why Stop Learning? (1927) and presided over the country's first adult education
Adult education
Adult education is the practice of teaching and educating adults. Adult education takes place in the workplace, through 'extension' school or 'school of continuing education' . Other learning places include folk high schools, community colleges, and lifelong learning centers...
program, and shaped literary tastes by serving as a member of the Book of the Month Club
Book of the Month Club
The Book of the Month Club is a United States mail-order book sales club that offers a new book each month to customers.The Book of the Month Club is part of a larger company that runs many book clubs in the United States and Canada. It was formerly the flagship club of Book-of-the-Month Club, Inc...
selection committee from 1925 to 1951.
Her best-known work today is probably Understood Betsy
Understood Betsy
Understood Betsy is a 1916 novel for children by Dorothy Canfield Fisher.-Plot Summary:The story tells of Elizabeth Ann, a 9-year-old orphan who goes from a sheltered existence with her father's aunt Harriet and cousin Frances in the city, to living on a Vermont farm with her mother's family, the...
, a children's book about a little orphan
Orphan
An orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan...
ed girl who is sent to live with her cousins in Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
. Though the book can be read purely for pleasure, it also describes a school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
house which is run much in the style of the Montessori method, for which Canfield was one of the first and most vocal advocates. Dorothy Canfield also wrote The Bent Twig (1915), Home Fires in France (1918), The Day of Glory (1919), The Brimming Cup (1921) and The Home-Maker (1924), which was reprinted by Persephone Books
Persephone Books
Persephone Books is an independent publisher based in Bloomsbury, London. Founded in 1999 by Nicola Beauman, Persephone has a catalogue of 93 "neglected novels, diaries, poetry, short stories, non-fiction, biography and cookery books, mostly by women and mostly dating from the early to...
in 1999. Later novels are Her Son's Wife (1926), The Deepening Stream (1930), Seasoned Timber (1939). A collection of 17 of her stories was Four Square (1949).
Biography
Dorothea Frances Canfield, as she was named at birth, was born in Lawrence, KansasLawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...
, on February 17, 1879. Her father was James Hulme Canfield
James Hulme Canfield
James Hulme Canfield , born in Delaware, Ohio, the son of Rev. E. H. and Martha Canfield, was the fourth President of The Ohio State University. He was raised in New York City. Canfield attended Williams College and read law in Jackson, Michigan, before briefly practicing in St. Joseph, Michigan...
, a college professor at the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
and the University of Nebraska, and president of Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
; her mother, Flavia Camp, was an artist and writer. However, Canfield is most closely associated with Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, where she spent her adult life, and which served as the setting for many of her books.
In 1899 Dorothy Canfield received a B.A. from Ohio State University. She was also a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma
Kappa Kappa Gamma
Kappa Kappa Gamma is a collegiate women's fraternity, founded at Monmouth College, in Monmouth, Illinois, USA. Although the groundwork of the organization was developed as early as 1869, the 1876 Convention voted that October 13, 1870 should be recognized at the official Founders Day, because no...
. Canfield went on to study Romance languages
Romance languages
The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome...
at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and in 1904 received a doctoral degree
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
there; Corneille and Racine in English (1904). With G. R. Carpenter from Columbia she co-wrote English Rhetoric and Composition (1906). She was the first woman to receive an honorary degree
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
from Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
, and also received honorary degrees from the University of Nebraska, Middlebury
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont, USA. Founded in 1800, it is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States. Drawing 2,400 undergraduates from all 50 United States and over 70 countries, Middlebury offers 44 majors in the arts,...
, Swarthmore
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
, Smith
Smith College
Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
, Williams
Williams College
Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...
, Ohio State University, and the University of Vermont
University of Vermont
The University of Vermont comprises seven undergraduate schools, an honors college, a graduate college, and a college of medicine. The Honors College does not offer its own degrees; students in the Honors College concurrently enroll in one of the university's seven undergraduate colleges or...
. She spoke five languages fluently, and in addition to writing novels, short stories, memoirs, and educational works, she forayed into literary criticism
Literary criticism
Literary criticism is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often informed by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of its methods and goals...
and translation
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1916 during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and worked with blinded soldiers. She also established a convalescent home for refugee French children from the invaded areas. William Lyon Phelps
William Lyon Phelps
William Lyon Phelps was an American author, critic and scholar. He taught the first American university course on the modern novel. He was a well-known speaker who drew large crowds...
comments, "All her novels are autobiographical, being written exclusively out of her own experience and observation."
Her son James became a surgeon and captain in the U.S. Army during World War II. He served with the Alamo Scouts
Alamo scouts
The Alamo Scouts was a reconnaissance unit of the Sixth United States Army in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II...
for three months at the end of 1944, following which he was attached to a Ranger
United States Army Rangers
United States Army Rangers are elite members of the United States Army. Rangers have served in recognized U.S. Army Ranger units or have graduated from the U.S. Army's Ranger School...
unit which carried out the raid to free POW
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
s imprisoned at Cabanatuan
Raid at Cabanatuan
The Raid at Cabanatuan was a rescue of Allied prisoners of war and civilians from a Japanese camp near Cabanatuan City, in the Philippines...
in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. The raid was a great success, with the Rangers suffering only two fatalities. Captain Fisher was one, mortally wounded by a mortar shell. As he lay dying the next day, his last words were "Did we get them all out?"
Fisher died at the age of 79, in Arlington, Vermont, in 1958.
The Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award
Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award
The Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award is an annual award for new American children's books, given in Vermont and named after Vermont author Dorothy Canfield Fisher. The winning book is chosen by the vote of Vermont schoolchildren....
, named after her, is a unique award for new American children's books, as the winner is chosen by the vote of child readers.
A dormitory at Goddard College
Goddard College
Goddard College is a private, liberal arts college located in Plainfield, Vermont, offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Goddard College currently operates on an intensive low-residency model...
in Plainfield, Vermont
Plainfield, Vermont
Plainfield is a town in Washington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,286 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Plainfield is located at ....
, is named for Fisher.