This is an accepted version of this page Elizabeth George Speare (November 21, 1908 – November 15, 1994) was an American writer of children's historical fiction, including two Newbery Medal winners, recognizing the year's "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children".
Her childhood, as she later recalled, was "exceptionally happy" and Melrose was "an ideal place in which to have grown up, close to fields and woods where we hiked and picnicked, and near to Boston where we frequently had family treats of theaters and concerts.
[4] In 1936, she met her future husband, Alden Speare, and together they moved to Connecticut where they married and raised two children.
Eventually her work saw circulation in Better Homes and Gardens, Woman's Day, Parents, and American Heritage.
The next year she completed her second historical novel, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, which won numerous awards, including the Newbery Medal in 1959.