World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Phyllis A. Whitney

フィリス・エー・ホイットニー

Phyllis A. Whitney

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1903-09-09 （Yokohama, Japan）
Died
2008-02-08 （Faber, Virginia, United States） age 104
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Yokohama (early childhood) → Asia (early years) → Chicago (after parents' death) → Staten Island, New York (long-term residence) → Faber, Virginia (final residence)

Career

Occupations
Author, Novelist, Writer
Active Years
1941-2008

Awards

Edgar Award (Best Juvenile Novel)
1961
Work: The Mystery of the Haunted Pool
Organization: Mystery Writers of America
Result: 受賞
Edgar Award (Best Juvenile Novel)
1964
Work: The Mystery of the Hidden Hand
Organization: Mystery Writers of America
Result: 受賞
Grand Master Award
1988
Organization: Mystery Writers of America
Result: 受賞（生涯業績）
Lifetime Achievement Award
1990
Organization: Romance Writers of America
Result: 受賞（生涯業績）

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

A Place for Ann

1941 Mystery/Romance

A young woman's search for independence and relationships. An early novel showing the seeds of her later romantic suspense style.

romancecoming of agerelationships

The Mystery of the Haunted Pool

1960 Young adult mystery / Gothic

A young protagonist unravels mysteries surrounding a mansion and its eerie pool; a gothic-tinged mystery.

gothicyoung independencesecrets

The Mystery of the Hidden Hand

1963 Young adult mystery / Suspense

A suspense novel for young readers in which the protagonist uncovers a dark history hinted at by a 'hidden hand.'

mysteryhidden historydetective elements

Bibliography

  • A Place for Ann (1941)
  • A Star for Ginny (1942)
  • A Window for Julie (1943)
  • Red is for Murder (1943)
  • The Mystery of the Haunted Pool (1960)
  • The Mystery of the Hidden Hand (1963)
  • Amethyst Dreams (1997)
  • Dream of Orchids (1985)
  • Guide to Fiction Writing (1982)
  • Writing Juvenile Stories and Novels (1976)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
romantic suspensegothic-tinged atmospheric descriptionplot-driven, accessible narration
Recurring Motifs
isolated mansionssecret artifactsyoung women coming into independence

Health

  • Pneumonia
    2008年2月（最期）
    Cause of death

Legacy

Phyllis A. Whitney was a bestselling author of romantic suspense and young-adult mysteries, sometimes dubbed the 'Queen of American Gothics.' Her papers and correspondence are held by the College of Staten Island archives.

Museums

  • College of Staten Island Archives Staten Island, New York, United States

Academic Societies

  • Mystery Writers of America
  • Romance Writers of America

Archives

  • College of Staten Island Special Collections and Archives

In Popular Culture

  • Often referred to in media as the 'Queen of American Gothics'

Quotes

  • “The girls in my books are out solving their own problems. They’ve always been women’s libbers because . . . I’ve always done what I wanted to do."
    Source: Interview in Parade magazine (1975); quoted in Los Angeles Times obituary (1975)

Trivia

  • Wrote 73 novels in her lifetime (39 for adults, 20 for young adults, 14 for children).
  • Born in Yokohama in 1903 to American parents.
  • Died in 2008 at age 104.
  • Books were published in more than thirty countries.
  • She disliked being labeled 'Queen of the American Gothics' and preferred to call her work 'romantic novels of suspense.'