Woman of the Century/Mary Noailles Murfree

MURFREE, Miss Mary Noailles, novelist, horn in Grantlands. near Murfreesburough, Tenn., MARY NOAILLES MURFREE. in 1850. She is widely known by her pen-name. "Charles Egbert Craddock." She is the great granddaughter of Colonel Hardy Murfree, of Revolutionary fame, and her family have long been distinguished in the South. Her father was a brilliant lawyer before the Civil War, and a literary man. Mary was carefully educated. She was made lame in childhood by a stroke of paralysis, and, debarred from the active sports of youth, she became a student and reader. The Civil War reduced the fortunes of her family. After the conflict was ended, they removed to St. Louis, Mo., where they now reside. Mary began to busy herself in writing stories of life in the Tennessee mountains, where she had in youth been familiar with the people. She chose a masculine pen-name and sent her first productions to the "Atlantic Monthly." They were published, and at once inquiries were made concerning "Charles Egbert Craddock." She concealed her identity for several years. Her works have when very popular. They include "In the Tennessee Mountains." a volume of sketches (Boston. 1S841, "Where the Battle was Fought (1884), "Down the Ravine" (18S5). "The Prophet of the Great Smoky Mountain" (1885), "In the Clouds" (1886), "The Story of Keedon Bluffs" (1887), and "The Despot of Broomsedge Cove" (1888). She has contributed much matter to the leading magazines of the day. Her work was supposed to be that of a man, from her pen-name and from the firm, distinct style of her writing She is a student of humanity, and her portraitures of the Tennessee mountaineers have very great value aside from the entertainment they furnish to the careless reader.