Elinor Wylie

She graduated in 1904, her formal education now ended and in December 1906 she married Harvard graduate Philip Hichborn. This was an unhappy marriage and in 1910, when her son was only three, Elinor abandoned her husband and son after meeting Horace Wylie, a Washington lawyer with a wife and three children, Wylie was 17 years older than Elinor. He stalked her for years, appearing wherever she was. Together the moved to England, remaining there until 1914. They used all their resources to return to USA, they rented an apartment in Maine, not popular there they finally returned to Washington, working in clerical positions to help their survival.
Elinor became disillusioned with Horace. She had met William Rose Benet, Stephen Vincent Benet's brother, who admired Elinor's younger brother Henry, Elinor's poems, and finally Elinor herself. Bill offered her the first real hope of becoming a professional author.

In 1920-21 Bill, a widower whose three children were being raised by his mother and sister, helped Elinor get established in New York City. Her first book of poems, Nets to Catch the Wind, was published in 1921 receiving satisfactory acclaim. In 1922 she became literary editor of Vanity Fair magazine.

In 1923 Elinor divorced Horace, published a second book of poetry, saw her first novel released (Jennifer Lorn), and married Bill. They moved his children in with them, but Elinor was not a good stepmother. Eventually Williams’ sister was given permanent custody over them.

In two years, Elinor became a New York icon. She was so sought after by editors and socialites. Through sheer hard work she published her third novel (The Venetian Glass Nephew) and fourth book of poems (Angels and Earthly Creatures).

In 1928 Elinor returned to England alone. There she fell in love again, again with a married man. She suffered a fall that aggravated the pain she already suffered from **Bright's Disease. She sailed back to New York to spend Christmas with Bill. On December 16, 1928, she suffered a stroke and died.

**Bright's disease - Chronic inflammatory disease of kidneys