Edith Roelker Curtis

Edith Roelker Curtis (1893–1977) was a New England writer, historian, and diarist. Early life, education, and social activities Edith Goddard Roelker was born on July 29, 1893, to William and Eleanor (Jenckes) Roelker. Her mother's roots in Rhode Island stretched back to the colonial era, and Edith grew up in a privileged environment on an East Greenwich homestead and in a city residence in Providence. With the marriage strained by Eleanor's alcoholism, the Roelkers divorced in 1901. Edith attended school in Providence and lived for a time with an aunt in Cincinnati. She subsequently attended the elite Miss Porter's School in Farmington, Connecticut, between 1909 and 1912 but left before receiving a degree. She made her society debut in 1912. Two years later, she married Charles Pelham Curtis Jr., a Harvard Law student and member of a similarly distinguished Boston family. Charles became a partner at the Choate, Hall & Stewart firm, and the couple lived in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood until they moved to Norfolk, Massachusetts, in 1924. They had five children: Sarah (called Sally) (b. 1915), Anita (b. 1917), Charles (b. 1919), William, and Richard. During the First World War, Edith volunteered for the Red Cross. She was active in Boston club life, becoming a member of the Nucleus, Chilton Club, and Boston Sewing Circle (a predecessor to the Junior League), among others. The clubs functioned as hubs of high society, but Edith also participated in the cultural events and volunteer activities sponsored by the groups. She maintained an interest in literary and social organizations throughout her life. Literary career Edith Curtis's literary ambitions were awakened after the birth of her third child, and she undertook course work in composition and English literature at Radcliffe College. She published small pieces through the 1920s. Inspired by the celebration of the Boston tercentennial, she released a full-length book, Anne Hutchinson: A Biography in 1930. As her professional writing career developed, her marriage foundered. Charles's extramarital affairs prompted a divorce in 1936 when Edith discovered in a gossip column that her husband had registered at a New York hotel with his mistress. Given the prominent standing of the family, the divorce caused scandal in Boston social circles. While maintaining an active social life and overseeing a large household, Edith continued to write as her children grew up and left the home.