Mary Austin (1) (1868–1934)

Mary Hunter Austin (1868-1934) was a well-known and prolific writer best known for her portrayals of life in California and New Mexico. She published 33 books, including Land of Little Rain, 3 plays and well over 125 short stories, articles, and poems before her death on August 13, 1934. During her lifetime, Austin befriended many important figures including Jimmy Hopper, Herbert Hoover, Jack London, Charles Fletcher Lummis, George Bernard Shaw, George Sterling, and H.G. Wells, among many others represented in the collection. There is little correspondence with her immediate family, though she was close to her brother Jim's daughter, Mary Hunter Sullivan Wolf, and numerous correspondence between the two exist. Austin lived in Carmel, California, New York, London, and Rome. Santa Fe, New Mexico, became her final residence and she erected a house there, which she named "Casa Querida." Once in Santa Fe, her lifelong interest in American Indians became more pronounced, and she lobbied vigorously and frequently on their behalf. Much of her later writing dealt with Indians as well as mysticism and religions. With the help of Arthur Leon Campa of the University of New Mexico, Austin collected Spanish folklore, which had existed as oral tradition until they transcribed it. Austin's writings also focused on the financial, intellectual, and social independence of women.