Talking About Women’s History: Three Questions and An Answer with Andrea Friederici Ross
Andrea Friederici Ross is the author of Edith: The Rogue Rockefeller McCormick and Let the Lions Roar! The Evolution of Brookfield Zoo. Bearing a degree in German Language and Literature from Northwestern University, Andrea put that knowledge to unconventional use in her zig-zag career path ranging from the administration of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, to working for the director of Brookfield Zoo, and working with young children at her neighborhood public school library. Published by Southern Illinois University Press, Edith was selected as the 2021 Book of the Year (Traditional Nonfiction) by the Chicago Writers Association.
Take it away, Andrea!
What path led you to Edith Rockefeller McCormick? And why do you think it is important to tell her story today?
I first learned about Edith Rockefeller McCormick while doing the research for my first book, Let the Lions Roar! The Evolution of Brookfield Zoo, because Edith gave the land that founded the zoo. I actually set out to write historical fiction, because I thought she was a quirky character and would make for fascinating fiction (spendthrift! scandals! reincarnation!). But somewhere along the way I came to realize that she’d been shortchanged in history. Most of what you read about her today is the family scandals, her unusual beliefs, and her outlandish spending. What’s missing from the historical record is the tremendous amount of good work she did in promoting the arts and culture in Chicago and supporting young intellectuals such as Carl Jung and James Joyce. Also usually absent is any mention of her own incredible intellect.
I came to understand that Edith had been crammed into an uncomfortable woman-shaped box for most of her life and that it took tremendous courage for her to break out of that limited role, despite considerable recriminations from her powerful male family members (her father was John D. Rockefeller and her husband was Harold McCormick, the harvester heir). I ended up writing the biography in large part to set the record straight.
Edith Rockefeller McCormick was a cultural powerhouse in her time. What important legacies did she leave that we don’t give her credit for today?
Ah, that’s just it! Edith did so much for the Chicago area (and beyond), yet few people know her name. She was a driving force behind the establishment of Chicago Grand Opera, founded Brookfield Zoo, and started a real estate firm that sold properties to over 16,000 Chicagoans. In addition, she supported many young composers, artists, and writers, including James Joyce as he wrote Ulysses and a yet little-known Carl Jung. Together with her husband Harold, she founded an infectious diseases institute that helped curb scarlet fever and they endowed the Journal for Infectious Diseases. But it seemed like no-one knew these things.
It is suspected that Edith’s papers were destroyed after her death. I can’t prove this but, given the paucity of materials on her compared to other members of the family, it seems likely. It almost seems as if there was a concerted effort to erase her from history. Edith: The Rogue Rockefeller McCormick was my attempt to hopefully give her some acknowledgement for what she accomplished as well as for her ill-fated but well-intended projects. It helps that, along the way, there are plenty of quirks and scandals to keep the reader interested!
Writing about a historical figure like Edith Rockefeller McCormick requires living with her over a period of years. What was it like to have her as your constant companions?
I’m pretty sure my son and daughter came to feel there was a third, very demanding child in my life! While attending soccer and basketball games, selling Girl Scout cookies and Boy Scout popcorn, my mind was constantly processing my latest archival finds and trying to figure out who this enigmatic woman was. It was strange to be in such a different headspace (and century) than most of the people around me. I had many, many dreams about Edith and actually came to feel somewhat haunted by her. It took me ten years to research and write about her, including numerous trips out of state to visit archives and other sites of interest. That’s a long time to feel haunted, a long time to be working solo on a project. Now that I’ve put it all on paper and the book is out, I no longer feel that she is with me. Not sure if I’ve set her free or vice versa!
Question for Pamela: What advice do you have for writers just starting out who might be frustrated by the difficulties inherent in breaking into publication?
Obviously the first step is writing a good book. After that, I think the most important thing is to learn as much as you can about the industry and the process. Too many people skip that step, and make the process harder than it is already.
Two resources I recommend when people ask me for a place to start:
- The #AmWriting podcast It’s hosted by three women who are successful writers with three very different career paths. They offer lots of nuts and bolts advice, with a healthy shot of inspiration.
- Almost anything by Jane Friedman, including her books Publishing 101 and The Business of Being a Writer. She knows her stuff.
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Interested in learning more about Andrea Friederici Ross and Edith: The Rogue Rockefeller McCormick ?
Check out her website: www.friedericiross.com
Follow her on Twitter: @friedericiross
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Check back tomorrow for three questions and an answer with Amy Laiken, a representative of the Working Women’s History Project, an organization which explores the point where women’s history and labor history meet.
Speaking While Female
In October, 2018, The Economist ran an opinion piece titled “Women’s Voices Are Judged More Harshly Than Men’s.” Considering the issue in the context of Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, the author reaches the conclusion that “Women seem to be damned whatever they do. Speak loudly and they are deemed shrill; speak softly and they are meek. A high voice is unserious.”
It seems like a small point at first. A pinprick in the universe of insults and glass ceilings. But in fact, voice is not a neutral issue. Historically, the voice of authority has been male, literally and figuratively.
Consultant and speaker Dana Rubin is the creator of a resource committed to showcasing women’s voices. The Speaking While Female Speech Bank showcases historic women’s speeches, from different times, places and ethnicities. It took me a while to realize that there are two sets of links in the database. If you click on a woman’s name, it will send you to a resources about the woman. (Often a wikipedia page.) If you click on the title of the speech, it will send you to the speech itself, in the form of a transcript, a recording, or a video. Once I figured it out, I found it to be a seductive little rabbit hole. Be warned.
If this is a subject you’re interested in, Dana has just begun a kickstarter campaign for a book titled Speaking While Female: 50 Extraordinary Speeches by American Women. Here’s the link if you’d like to know more: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/speakingwhilefemale/celebrating-womens-speech
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Check back on Monday for three questions and an answer with Andrea Friederici Ross, the author of Edith: The Rogue Rockefeller McCormick.
Talking About Women’s History: Three Questions and an Answer with Kathryn Atwood
Kathryn J. Attwood has written multiple young adult collective biographies on women and war for the Chicago Review Press, and edited Code Name Pauline, the memoirs of WWII SOE agent Pearl Witherington. Her first book, Women Heroes of World War II, gets all the attention, but her fifth, Courageous Women of the Vietnam War, was honored with an award that resembles the Newbery Medal if you don’t look too closely.
She has been seen on America: Facts vs. Fiction; heard on BBC America; published in the Historian and War, Literature & the Arts; and featured as a guest speaker at the Harold Washington Library in Chicago, the First Division Museum at Cantigny Park, and the Atlanta History Center. In addition to writing, she is part of the musical duo, The History Singers, who combine their passions for music and history in programs that use music to both entertain and educate.
Take it away, Kathryn!
How do you choose which women to include in your books?
The easiest women to locate were those who were already famous prior to whichever war I was writing about at the time, or those who became so because of their war work. But what simultaneously fascinates and saddens me are the thousands of ordinary women who acted on their conviction and then disappeared post-war, their stories lost to history. To represent a few of them, at least, I searched through collective biographies, small publishers and indie book reviewing sites.
In addition to writing women’s history, you give musical lecture programs that place classic American folk, pop, and war-related songs within their historical context. (Which sound fascinating, by the way.) Is there any imaginative cross-over between your two projects? What can we learn when we use music as a historical source?
Some of my most precious childhood memories involve music: sitting at the piano with my dad as he taught me how to harmonize or singing second soprano with my mom in a small women’s church ensemble. I think the WWII generation must have been filled with music lovers, like my parents, or at least that’s the impression I got during the 2010s when my husband and I sang WWII songs for an organization called Pillars of Honor, run by some founding members of Honor Flight. The vets at these events would always sit in the front rows, most of them beaming and singing with us on every song: “We Did it Before and We Can Do it Again”, “I’ll be Seeing You”, “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition”, “Any Bonds Today?”, “This is the Army Mr. Jones”, “I’ll Walk Alone,” “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree”, “It’s Been a Long, Long Time”, and the “Star Spangled Banner.”
Multiple radio stations use the tagline “The Soundtrack of our Lives” which is exactly what we try to accomplish when we present our programs: singing the soundtrack of people’s lives from different historical eras. In the case of the WWII vets, we were bringing them—and ourselves! –back to the days when they were saving the world from fascism. Heady stuff!
What work of women’s history have you read lately that you loved? (Or for that matter, what work of women’s history have you loved in any format? )
Fire Road: The Napalm Girl’s Journey through the Horrors of War to Faith, Forgiveness, and Peace by Kim Phuc Phan Thi. This memoir came out while I was turning in the manuscript for my Vietnam War collective biography, but Kim still took time away from promoting her book to write a glowing endorsement for mine. My chapter on Kim was based on the Denise Chong biography—it was too late to utilize the memoir at that point–but I recently suggested it for one of my book clubs and they all went wild over it. War stories have the potential to inspire because of the heroism they often illuminate, but war is always a destructive force that creates far too many victims. Kim’s story is, sadly, in this category, but the way she eventually triumphed makes her memoir a phenomenal inspiration.
Question for Pamela: You’ve written many books but only the last two feature women’s history. What caused the switch? And do you have more women’s stories on the back (or front) burner?
You could argue that I returned to my first historical love when I wrote my book on Civil War nurses, Heroines of Mercy Street. As a child I read every book I could find about notable women in history, because we just didn’t show up in history as it was taught in the public school system. Even the big names like Joan of Arc or Queen Elizabeth I, were relegated to sidebars.
As those of you who have been reading History on the Margins for a while know, I have lots of historical interests. That said, for the foreseeable future, I will be writing about women in history. Because we were always there.
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Interested in learning more about Kathryn Atwood and her work?
Check out her websites: www.kathrynatwood.com and www.historysingers.com
Follow her on Instagram: Kathryn Atwood
Follow her on Goodreads: Kathryn J. Atwood
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Come back tomorrow for more juicy Women’s History Month content!