Elsie Lee (1912–1987)
Author of The Nabob's Widow
About the Author
Disambiguation Notice:
aka Jane Gordon, Lee Sheridan, Elsie Cromwell, Norman Daniels
Works by Elsie Lee
The Reluctant Widow 1 copy
Doctor's Office 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Lee, Elsie Williams
- Other names
- Sheridan, Lee
- Birthdate
- 1912-01-24
- Date of death
- 1987-02-08
- Gender
- female
- Education
- Swarthmore College
Pratt Institute - Occupations
- librarian
office manager
executive secretary
writer
romance novelist - Organizations
- Society of Friends
Authors Guild of Authors League of America
Mensa - Short biography
- Elsie Lee, née Williams, was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Samuel Byron Williams, Jr., a telephone engineer, and his wife Helen.
Elsie attended Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and the Pratt Institute in New York. In 1941, she married Morton Lee. She worked as a librarian, executive secretary, and office manager. She mentioned in her book Elsie Lee's Book of Simple Gourmet Cookery (1971) that she lived in Washington for six years, and in Hollywood for three. In the 1940s, she sold her first stories to the Ladies Home Journal, and she went on to publish some three dozen novels, many of them romance novels, as well as works of non-fiction. She used a variety of pseudonyms, including Elsie Cromwell, Norman Daniels, Jane Gordon, and Lee Sheridan. - Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Brooklyn, New York, USA
- Places of residence
- New York, New York, USA
Washington, D.C., USA
Hollywood, California, USA - Place of death
- New York, New York, USA
- Disambiguation notice
- aka Jane Gordon, Lee Sheridan, Elsie Cromwell, Norman Daniels
- Associated Place (for map)
- New York, USA
Members
Reviews
A keeper shelf reread from the depths of my past. Elsie Lee wrote about self-assured women (who were not nurses or secretaries) witty men (who were not princes) sex and contemporary settings way before the rest of the pack. Fiona is the assistant to a fabled Hollywood astrologer although not necessarily a believer. She meets David, who it turns out is trying to prove that Fiona's employer is taking financial advantage of his beloved aunt. Their romance progresses as the mystery deepens. The show more Hollywood setting is fun with ditzy starlets and geniuses and comings and goings of the beautiful people. It's just a lovely entertaining read. show less
A fun Regency romance, with a delightful heroine. There are at least three romances here, as well as family drama, and a heart-wrenching ending at Brussels before and during Waterloo.
Nonny is an oddball character. Early in Diplomatic Lover she convinces her roommate's foster brother to take her to bed. She's a virgin and she simply must have "lessons" from York, the outrageously handsome actor. Nonny ("Bambi" to the boys) got what she wanted from York: she needed to go from Nonny-no to Nonny-yes. What's more, she then needs a fourteen day sailing adventure with York to "get him out of her system." Do you think she succeeds? In a word, no. Of course not. After the loss of show more virginity and the sailing adventure are both out of the way, Nonny returns to a scandal at the office. Someone is leaking inside trader information and smuggling political information. As a translator for the British Embassy in Washington D.C. Nonny is brilliant and the perfect person to solve the mystery. She speaks a multitude of languages, including finances. She often gives her roommates advice on investments. In addition, her father is a New York City lawyer and her grandfather is a banker in Zurich. She only has one problem: blackmail. Someone knows of her torrid affair at sea and wants to expose her (literally). Aside, from being a little dated this was an okay read. Just not my style. show less
Not a must, even for die-hard Elsie Lee fans. This short short story in Bluebook Adventure in Fact and Fiction, a men's magazine of the 1950's, has always been elusive in fact and description, so I bit the bullet and bought the magazine on ABE.com.
While it may add completeness to one's collection, it certainly adds nothing to one's appreciation of the Lee oeuvre. I found it merely an annoyingly silly single page 'cherchez la femme' fable set in Arabia, reproduced herewith.
Ever Since Eve – show more Elsie Lee
Even in Arabia where women are not highly thought of, a woman can be the root of all evil.
Take, for example, the case of the tailor of Bir Es Hasra.
There was a certain Arab who made his living by thievery, and as thieves go, he was high in his profession and had a certain standing. But even the mighty fall, and this thief-Ali, by name-fell quite literally into the hands of the law when the rung of the ladder on which he was .resting, preparatory to burgling the upper story of the banker's house, suddenly gave way.
Ali fell onto the garden plot, such as it was, beneath the banker's bedroom window-causing a commotion that could not be overlooked. The banker's wife peeped from the window, and seeing Ali sitting cursing on the ground, her screams led to his instant apprehension by the caliph's guard.
Now even in Arabia, a man has his day in court. Ali was duly brought before the judge; there was a recital of his misdeeds and at last the judge nodded his head wisely and said, "Have you anything to say before I pronounce you guilty?"
"Yes, your honor," said Ali, bowing ingratiatingly. "Your pardon, but I am not guilty."
"Not guilty?" The judge roared with laughter. "Why, you were caught red-handed trying to enter banker Sulieman's bedchamber. How can you say you're not guilty?"
"It is simple," Ali shrugged. "Is it my fault I was caught? Oh, no. If the rung of the ladder on which I stood had not given way, I should not have been caught. So I am not guilty, your honor. The man you want is the carpenter who sold me the faulty ladder."
The judge looked at the advocates, and the advocates looked at the caliph's men, and they all looked at Ali, who merely bowed again, politely.
"Well," said the judge, "there is much in what you say. Perhaps we should see this carpenter. Let him be brought."
So the caliph's men went out to the street of lumber merchants and shortly thereafter they dragged in the carpenter, named Vasti.
"It is charged that you were responsible for the faulty ladder, whereby Ali the thief fell to the ground and was captured by the caliph's men," said the judge sternly. "The blame for his crime thus rests on you. Have you anything to say before I pronounce you guilty?"
"N-n-no, your honor, except if it please your worshipfulness, I am not guilty," Vasti stuttered. "For five years I have worked with wood and always given satisfaction, your honor, but this was extraordinary. On the day that I visited the bazaar to purchase my last lot of wood, I was walking through the street of the Five Lotus Blossoms-you know it, perhaps?-when I saw coming toward me a most beautiful girl."
He sighed reminiscently, and continued: "She wore a most delicious green robe, your honor. It moved about her little feet like the south wind playing with two little kittens. Her hair had the sheen of black marble and her eyes were as lustrous as the gown which undulated with the grace of her movement. She was veiled, but I thought-that is, it seemed that her eye rested on me with interest, all unworthy as I am."
"And what has this girl in a green gown to do with the matter?" demanded the judge irritably.
"Everything, your honor," Vasti said hastily. "I am young, and the girl was beautiful. I could not get her out of my head, and because I thought so much of her grace and loveliness, my judgment in wood was impaired. I bought less wisely than usual. But it is not my fault, as you see, but that of the girl in the green gown who lured me with her beauty."
"Well," said the judge, "there is much in what you say. Perhaps we should see this carpenter. Let him be brought."
The judge nodded his head thoughtfully and looked at the advocates, who looked at the caliph's men. And the caliph's men went out and got the girl in the green gown.
"It is charged that with your beauty you seduced a young carpenter and caused him to buy poor lumber," barked the judge. "Whereby the faulty ladder he constructed caused Ali the thief to fall into banker Sulieman's garden and be apprehended. This is all your fault. Have you anything to say before I pronounce you guilty?"
The girl Sephira sighed gently behind her veil and cast down her eyes modestly. "My crime is grave, your honor," she admitted, and her voice was like the ringing of bells, "but truly I do not think I am guilty. For it was not I who seduced the carpenter, but my green gown, and I should never have bought it except that Jonas the tailor persuaded me it was the right color. He had only enough material for this one robe, but I would not have bought it if he had not persuaded me. So it is not my fault, as you see, but that of the tailor who made the gown to sway with my passing."
The judge cleared his throat sharply and glanced at the advocates, and the caliph's men merely sighed and went out and got the tailor, named Jonas.
When the matter had been explained to Jonas, he wrung his hands together sadly and said, "There is nothing I can say. It is true that I made the gown for Sephira which caused the carpenter to lose his judgment and make a faulty ladder which caused Ali to fall and be taken by the caliph's men. I admit the whole. Do with me as you will."
So the judge squared his shoulders and said, "For that you are solely responsible for the attempted burglary of banker Sulieman's house, I hereby condemn you to be hanged by the neck until you are dead. Take him out to the East Gate of the city and dispatch him at sunrise."
Jonas wrung his hands together once more, but the caliph's men rook charge of him, while the judge leaned over to inquire whether Sephira would permit him to escort her home.
It was nearly noon the following day when the judge thought of Jonas. "I suppose you hanged that tailor this morning?" he said casually to his aide.
"Well, as a matter of fact, your honor, we had a small difficulty. A minute matter, with which we would not trouble you."
"Eh?" said the judge. "What happened?"
"Why, your honor, the East Gate is a very low gate," said the aide, "and as it happened, Jonas was a very tall tailor. We tried and tried, but we couldn't fix the hook and the rope in such a way that his legs would clear the ground."
"Well?"
"So we finally let him go; and we went out and found a shorter tailor and hanged him." • show less
While it may add completeness to one's collection, it certainly adds nothing to one's appreciation of the Lee oeuvre. I found it merely an annoyingly silly single page 'cherchez la femme' fable set in Arabia, reproduced herewith.
Ever Since Eve – show more Elsie Lee
Even in Arabia where women are not highly thought of, a woman can be the root of all evil.
Take, for example, the case of the tailor of Bir Es Hasra.
There was a certain Arab who made his living by thievery, and as thieves go, he was high in his profession and had a certain standing. But even the mighty fall, and this thief-Ali, by name-fell quite literally into the hands of the law when the rung of the ladder on which he was .resting, preparatory to burgling the upper story of the banker's house, suddenly gave way.
Ali fell onto the garden plot, such as it was, beneath the banker's bedroom window-causing a commotion that could not be overlooked. The banker's wife peeped from the window, and seeing Ali sitting cursing on the ground, her screams led to his instant apprehension by the caliph's guard.
Now even in Arabia, a man has his day in court. Ali was duly brought before the judge; there was a recital of his misdeeds and at last the judge nodded his head wisely and said, "Have you anything to say before I pronounce you guilty?"
"Yes, your honor," said Ali, bowing ingratiatingly. "Your pardon, but I am not guilty."
"Not guilty?" The judge roared with laughter. "Why, you were caught red-handed trying to enter banker Sulieman's bedchamber. How can you say you're not guilty?"
"It is simple," Ali shrugged. "Is it my fault I was caught? Oh, no. If the rung of the ladder on which I stood had not given way, I should not have been caught. So I am not guilty, your honor. The man you want is the carpenter who sold me the faulty ladder."
The judge looked at the advocates, and the advocates looked at the caliph's men, and they all looked at Ali, who merely bowed again, politely.
"Well," said the judge, "there is much in what you say. Perhaps we should see this carpenter. Let him be brought."
So the caliph's men went out to the street of lumber merchants and shortly thereafter they dragged in the carpenter, named Vasti.
"It is charged that you were responsible for the faulty ladder, whereby Ali the thief fell to the ground and was captured by the caliph's men," said the judge sternly. "The blame for his crime thus rests on you. Have you anything to say before I pronounce you guilty?"
"N-n-no, your honor, except if it please your worshipfulness, I am not guilty," Vasti stuttered. "For five years I have worked with wood and always given satisfaction, your honor, but this was extraordinary. On the day that I visited the bazaar to purchase my last lot of wood, I was walking through the street of the Five Lotus Blossoms-you know it, perhaps?-when I saw coming toward me a most beautiful girl."
He sighed reminiscently, and continued: "She wore a most delicious green robe, your honor. It moved about her little feet like the south wind playing with two little kittens. Her hair had the sheen of black marble and her eyes were as lustrous as the gown which undulated with the grace of her movement. She was veiled, but I thought-that is, it seemed that her eye rested on me with interest, all unworthy as I am."
"And what has this girl in a green gown to do with the matter?" demanded the judge irritably.
"Everything, your honor," Vasti said hastily. "I am young, and the girl was beautiful. I could not get her out of my head, and because I thought so much of her grace and loveliness, my judgment in wood was impaired. I bought less wisely than usual. But it is not my fault, as you see, but that of the girl in the green gown who lured me with her beauty."
"Well," said the judge, "there is much in what you say. Perhaps we should see this carpenter. Let him be brought."
The judge nodded his head thoughtfully and looked at the advocates, who looked at the caliph's men. And the caliph's men went out and got the girl in the green gown.
"It is charged that with your beauty you seduced a young carpenter and caused him to buy poor lumber," barked the judge. "Whereby the faulty ladder he constructed caused Ali the thief to fall into banker Sulieman's garden and be apprehended. This is all your fault. Have you anything to say before I pronounce you guilty?"
The girl Sephira sighed gently behind her veil and cast down her eyes modestly. "My crime is grave, your honor," she admitted, and her voice was like the ringing of bells, "but truly I do not think I am guilty. For it was not I who seduced the carpenter, but my green gown, and I should never have bought it except that Jonas the tailor persuaded me it was the right color. He had only enough material for this one robe, but I would not have bought it if he had not persuaded me. So it is not my fault, as you see, but that of the tailor who made the gown to sway with my passing."
The judge cleared his throat sharply and glanced at the advocates, and the caliph's men merely sighed and went out and got the tailor, named Jonas.
When the matter had been explained to Jonas, he wrung his hands together sadly and said, "There is nothing I can say. It is true that I made the gown for Sephira which caused the carpenter to lose his judgment and make a faulty ladder which caused Ali to fall and be taken by the caliph's men. I admit the whole. Do with me as you will."
So the judge squared his shoulders and said, "For that you are solely responsible for the attempted burglary of banker Sulieman's house, I hereby condemn you to be hanged by the neck until you are dead. Take him out to the East Gate of the city and dispatch him at sunrise."
Jonas wrung his hands together once more, but the caliph's men rook charge of him, while the judge leaned over to inquire whether Sephira would permit him to escort her home.
It was nearly noon the following day when the judge thought of Jonas. "I suppose you hanged that tailor this morning?" he said casually to his aide.
"Well, as a matter of fact, your honor, we had a small difficulty. A minute matter, with which we would not trouble you."
"Eh?" said the judge. "What happened?"
"Why, your honor, the East Gate is a very low gate," said the aide, "and as it happened, Jonas was a very tall tailor. We tried and tried, but we couldn't fix the hook and the rope in such a way that his legs would clear the ground."
"Well?"
"So we finally let him go; and we went out and found a shorter tailor and hanged him." • show less
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