Mildred Savage (1919–2011)

Mildred Savage was born in New London, Connecticut, one of three children of Ezekiel and Sadie Spitz. In 1941, she graduated from Wellesley College with a bachelor's degree in history. Soon afterwards, she married Bernard Savage and moved to Norwich, Connecticut.

She never intended to become a writer, but wanting a job she could do at home while raising her children, she decided to try it. Her first book, The Lumberyard and Mrs. Barrie, published under the pseudonym Jane Barrie in 1952, was a largely autobiographical account of a woman who joins her husband in his failing lumber business. In 1958, she achieved major success with her first novel, Parrish. It was a critical success and was adapted into a 1961 Hollywood film. Subsequent books included A Great Fall: A Murder and Its Consequences (1970), which won the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for best fact-based crime book in 1971.