Fritz, Jean (1915-2017), was an American children’s author known for her novels and biographies that explore American history. Fritz was praised for her skill in providing insight into historically important persons and the periods in which they lived. Her books are realistic, thoroughly researched, and often witty.
Early in her literary career, Fritz wrote a series of picture books, beginning with Bunny Hopwell’s First Spring (1954). Her first book dealing with American history was The Cabin Faced West (1958). Her other books on American history included And Then What Happened, Paul Revere? (1973); Will You Sign Here, John Hancock? (1976); Traitor: The Case of Benedict Arnold (1981); Make Way for Sam Houston (1986); Bully for You, Teddy Roosevelt! (1991); Harriet Beecher Stowe and the Beecher Preachers (1994); Why Not, Lafayette? (1999); The Lost Colony of Roanoke (2004); and Alexander Hamilton: The Outsider (2011).
Jean Guttery was born on Nov. 16, 1915, in Hankou, China, the daughter of American missionaries. She moved with her family to the United States when she was 13 years old. She described her childhood in China in a fictionalized autobiography, Homesick: My Own Story (1982). Jean received an A.B. degree from Wheaton College in Massachusetts in 1937 and married Michael Fritz in 1941. She was honored for her lifetime contribution to children’s literature with the Regina Medal in 1985 and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award (now called the Children’s Literature Legacy Award) in 1986. She died on May 14, 2017, at the age of 101.
