Ben Ames Williams’s Followers (24)

Ben Ames Williams

Born

in Macon, Mississippi, The United States

March 07, 1889

Died

February 04, 1953

edit data

Ben Ames Williams was born in Macon, Mississippi to Daniel Webster Williams and Sarah Marshall Ames on March 7, 1889. Just after his birth, he and his parents moved to Jackson, Ohio. Because his father was owner and editor of the Jackson Standard Journal in Ohio, Ben Williams grew up around writing, printing, and editing. In high school he worked for the Journal, doing grunt work in the beginning and eventually writing and editing. He attended Dartmouth College and upon graduation in 1910 was offered a job teaching English at a boy’s school in Connecticut. He telegraphed his father seeking career advice, but his handwriting was terrible and his father mistook “teaching” for “traveling” and, not wanting his son to become a traveling business Ben Ames Williams was born in Macon, Mississippi to Daniel Webster Williams and Sarah Marshall Ames on March 7, 1889. Just after his birth, he and his parents moved to Jackson, Ohio. Because his father was owner and editor of the Jackson Standard Journal in Ohio, Ben Williams grew up around writing, printing, and editing. In high school he worked for the Journal, doing grunt work in the beginning and eventually writing and editing. He attended Dartmouth College and upon graduation in 1910 was offered a job teaching English at a boy’s school in Connecticut. He telegraphed his father seeking career advice, but his handwriting was terrible and his father mistook “teaching” for “traveling” and, not wanting his son to become a traveling businessman, advised him not to take the job. Richard Cary says it later saved Williams from “a purgatory of grading endless, immature English ‘themes’” and propelled him “toward a career as one of the most popular storytellers of his time”. Right after graduation he took a job reporting for the Boston American.

Williams worked hard reporting for the local newspaper, but only did this for income; his heart lay with magazine fiction. Each night he worked on his fiction writing with the aspiration that one day, his stories would be able to support himself, his wife, Florence Talpey, and their children, Roger, Ben, and Penelope. He faced many rejection letters in the beginning of his career, which only drove him to study harder and practice more.

Williams was first published on August 23, 1915 in The Popular Magazine with his short story “Deep Stuff.” After that his popularity slowly grew. He published 135 short stories, 35 serials, and 7 articles for the Saturday Evening Post during a period of 24 years. After the Post took him, other magazines began eagerly seeking Williams to submit his fiction to their magazines.

Williams is perhaps most famous for creating the fictional town of Fraternity, located in rural Maine. 125 of his short stories were set in Fraternity, and they were most popular in the Post. Maine is also the setting for many of his novels.

Williams died of a heart attack in 1953.

Source: Wikipedia

...more

Combine Editions
Ben Ames Williams’s books

Average rating: 4.07 · 1,456 ratings · 254 reviews · 89 distinct works • Similar authors

	Leave Her to Heaven 4.01 avg rating — 738 ratings — published 1944 — 53 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	House Divided 4.31 avg rating — 239 ratings — published 1947 — 18 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Come Spring 4.42 avg rating — 208 ratings — published 1968 — 14 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Strange Woman 3.80 avg rating — 71 ratings — published 1941 — 30 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	All the Brothers Were Valiant 3.57 avg rating — 46 ratings — 88 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Unconquered 4.13 avg rating — 24 ratings — published 1953 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Dreadful Night 3.47 avg rating — 15 ratings — published 1928 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Sea Bride 3.92 avg rating — 12 ratings — published 1919 — 34 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Strumpet Sea 4.60 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 1938 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	They Grind Exceeding Small 4.20 avg rating — 5 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Ben Ames Williams…

Quotes by Ben Ames Williams (?)

“Her garments borrowed grace from her.”
― Ben Ames Williams, Leave Her to Heaven

tags: grace

1 likes

“Ellen, he knew now, would marry him if he chose; but he had been sure for years that he would never marry anyone, and he was sure tonight he would never marry Ellen. 'We'd always be either on the peaks, sublimely happy, or in the bleak valleys of anger and despair,' he told himself; and he knew he would prefer to dwell in a pleasant intervale, one of those lovely spots which so often he had seen along a northern river, where the grassy meadows were dotted with tall graceful elms, and quiet deer came feeding, and a little brook sang near-by, and there were friendly hills all about, and perhaps a few mountains, not too closely seen, visible far away.
Yes, it was peace a man wanted. He reflected with an amused smile that Ruth was much more the sort of woman an author ought to marry: self-effacing, strong, serene, with a sense of humor which occasionally revealed itself in her pleasant eyes. But of course there was no question of his marrying Ruth!
For that matter, there was no question of his marrying anyone!”
― Ben Ames Williams, Leave Her to Heaven

tags: marriage

0 likes

“Remembering can be a hard thing on a man," he suggested. "I wear life like an old pair of shoes that's easy on my feet.”
― Ben Ames Williams, Leave Her to Heaven

0 likes

See all Ben Ames Williams's quotes »

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Glens Falls (NY) ...: What are U reading these days? (PART SIX) (2010)	1059	229	Dec 31, 2010 08:12PM
Glens Falls (NY) ...: Have you seen any good movies lately? (Part THREE - 2010)	1349	149	Dec 31, 2010 08:52PM
The Reading For P...: * A Bookish Diary for 2017 - the Pepys Project	1833	379	Jan 08, 2018 08:42AM
Around the World ...: Maine	16	396	Dec 28, 2018 02:09PM
Catching up on Cl...: Karen Michele's Buffet Tasting	6	26	Jan 21, 2020 11:54AM

More…