Brown, Rita Mae (1944-…), is an American author of detective stories. Brown is also a leading supporter of women’s and homosexual rights.
Brown’s popular series of detective stories are published under the names of Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown, Rita Mae’s pet cat. The stories feature postmaster Mary Minor Haristeen, known as Harry, and her two pets, a cat named Mrs. Murphy and a Pembroke Welsh Corgi dog named Tee Tucker. In a typical story, Harry investigates at least one murder, with the help of her pets and their animal friends. The series has been praised for its clever plots and the witty dialogue, often among the animal characters. The series began with Wish You Were Here (1990).
Brown first gained recognition for novels that centered on forceful and self-reliant lesbian characters. A lesbian is a female homosexual. Perhaps her best-known novel is the autobiographical Rubyfruit Jungle (1973). This comic story describes the adventures of a lively lesbian named Molly Bolt. Six of One (1978) is another autobiographical novel. It portrays life in a town on the Maryland-Pennsylvania border from 1909 to 1980. It is told from a female point of view. Dolley: A Novel of Dolley Madison in Love and War (1994) is a historical novel about the wife of James Madison, the fourth president of the United States.
Brown has written several works of nonfiction. Her essays were published in A Plain Brown Wrapper (1976). Her poetry was collected in The Poems of Rita Mae Brown (1987). She wrote an autobiography, Rita Will: Memoir of a Literary Rabble-Rouser (1997). She has also written for television and motion pictures.
Brown was born on Nov. 28, 1944, in Hanover, Pennsylvania. She earned a B.A. degree from New York University in 1968. She was a research fellow from 1971 to 1973 at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C. The institute is a center for research and education that focuses on public policy issues. Brown received a Ph.D. from the institute in 1976.
