Harriet Hassell
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Brief Biography
Harriet Hassell was raised on a farm near Northport, Alabama, and demonstrated an early passion for writing. She enrolled at the University of Alabama at fifteen years old but left before finishing her degree, choosing to return home to work on her writing. Seven years later, she re-enrolled at the university and joined a fiction-writing class taught by Hudson Strode. Her short story "History of the South" gained recognition, winning a national contest and appearing in the anthology Spring Harvest. In 1938, Hassell published her novel Rachel's Children, which received favorable reviews. Despite the initial success, she chose not to publish any further works and instead married a local attorney and relocated to Port Washington, Long Island, New York, where she resided until her passing in 1970.
Publications
Rachel's Children. New York; Harper, 1938; Rpt. University of Alabama Press, 1990.
Themes
Harriet Hassell was a short story writer and novelist. Her short story "History of the South" is praised for its depiction of southern family life while her novel Rachel's Children focuses on the toxic relationship between a mother and her children.
Publisher
Alabama Authors of the 19th and 20th Centuries, edited by Beverley Park Rilett, http://AlabamaAuthors.org
Collection
Citation
Hassel, Harriet, “Harriet Hassell,” Alabama Authors of the 19th & 20th Centuries, accessed September 19, 2024, https://alabamaauthors.org/items/show/598.