Megan Marshall
Encyclopedia
Megan Marshall is an American writer and scholar. She is best known as the author of The Peabody Sisters: Three Women Who Ignited American Romanticism, which was published in 2005. The book earned her a place as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize
in biography in 2006.
. Her mother was a book designer; her father worked in city government. Marshall came East to attend Bennington College
as a literature and music major, but left without finishing and later enrolled at Harvard College
, where she studied with poets Robert Lowell, Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Fitzgerald, and Jane Shore. She earned a B.A. in 1977 and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
Before turning to writing, Marshall worked in the publishing industry and taught.
Her first book, published in 1984, was The Cost of Loving: Women and the New Fear of Intimacy, which examines the impact of the feminist movement on the love lives of its followers.
Marshall is particularly interested in uncovering and exploring the lives of women who have been forgotten by traditional historians and biographers.
Marshall, supported by various grants and by some teaching, worked on the book The Peabody Sisters for nearly twenty years, reading original letters and documents as well as delving into the newspapers and literature of the era. The book focused on the lives of Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, Mary Tyler Peabody Mann
, and Sophia Hawthorne. Marshall is currently working on a biography of Elizabeth (Ebe) Hawthorne, the older sister, mentor and muse, of Nathaniel Hawthorne
. She also writes occasionally for The New Yorker
, Slate
, The New York Times Book Review
, The London Review of Books, and other publications. She has begun work on another book, The Passion of Margaret Fuller, to be published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Since 2007 she is Assistant Professor in Writing, Literature & Publishing at Emerson College.
Marshall lives in Belmont, MA.
, the National Endowment for the Humanities
and the Radcliffe Institute.
Aside from being a Pulitzer finalist, The Peabody Sisters was awarded the Francis Parkman Prize
, the Mark Lynton History Prize
, and the Massachusetts Book Award in nonfiction.
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
in biography in 2006.
Biography
Marshall was born in Oakland, CaliforniaOakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
. Her mother was a book designer; her father worked in city government. Marshall came East to attend Bennington College
Bennington College
Bennington College is a liberal arts college located in Bennington, Vermont, USA. The college was founded in 1932 as a women's college and became co-educational in 1969.-History:-Early years:...
as a literature and music major, but left without finishing and later enrolled at Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
, where she studied with poets Robert Lowell, Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Fitzgerald, and Jane Shore. She earned a B.A. in 1977 and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
Before turning to writing, Marshall worked in the publishing industry and taught.
Her first book, published in 1984, was The Cost of Loving: Women and the New Fear of Intimacy, which examines the impact of the feminist movement on the love lives of its followers.
Marshall is particularly interested in uncovering and exploring the lives of women who have been forgotten by traditional historians and biographers.
Marshall, supported by various grants and by some teaching, worked on the book The Peabody Sisters for nearly twenty years, reading original letters and documents as well as delving into the newspapers and literature of the era. The book focused on the lives of Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, Mary Tyler Peabody Mann
Mary Tyler Peabody Mann
Mary Tyler Peabody Mann of chronic bronchitis) was a teacher, author, mother, and wife of Horace Mann, American education reformer and politician.-Early Life:Mary Tyler Peabody Mann was the daughter of Dr. Nathaniel Peabody and Elizabeth Palmer Peabody...
, and Sophia Hawthorne. Marshall is currently working on a biography of Elizabeth (Ebe) Hawthorne, the older sister, mentor and muse, of Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer.Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in the city of Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne, a judge during the Salem Witch Trials...
. She also writes occasionally for The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, Slate
Slate (magazine)
Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
, The New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to The New York Times in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely read book review publications in the industry. The offices are located near Times Square in New York...
, The London Review of Books, and other publications. She has begun work on another book, The Passion of Margaret Fuller, to be published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Since 2007 she is Assistant Professor in Writing, Literature & Publishing at Emerson College.
Marshall lives in Belmont, MA.
Books
- The Cost of Loving: Women and the New Fear of Intimacy, 1984.
- The Peabody Sisters: Three Women Who Ignited American Romanticism, 2005.
Awards and honors
Marshall, who was named the most promising writer in her Harvard class of 1977 by Harvard Monthly, is the recipient of awards from the Guggenheim FoundationJohn Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation was founded in 1925 by Mr. and Mrs. Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died April 26, 1922...
, the National Endowment for the Humanities
National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent federal agency of the United States established by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. The NEH is located at...
and the Radcliffe Institute.
Aside from being a Pulitzer finalist, The Peabody Sisters was awarded the Francis Parkman Prize
Francis Parkman Prize
The Francis Parkman Prize, named after Francis Parkman, is awarded by the Society of American Historians for the best book in American history each year. Its purpose is to promote literary distinction in historical writing...
, the Mark Lynton History Prize
Mark Lynton History Prize
The Mark Lynton History Prize is an annual award in the amount of $10,000 given to a book "of history, on any subject, that best combines intellectual or scholarly distinction with felicity of expression"...
, and the Massachusetts Book Award in nonfiction.