Women Writers Buried in Virginia

Sharon Pajka

• Publisher: The History Press
• Year: 2021
• eBook ISBN: 9781439674147
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Literary Biographies
• Index: History

America has an array of women writers who have made history--and many of them lived, died and were buried in Virginia. Gothic novelists, writers of westerns and African American poets, these writers include a Pulitzer Prize winner, the first woman writer to be named poet laureate of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the first woman to top the bestseller lists in the twentieth century. Mary Roberts Rinehart was a best-selling mystery author often called the "American Agatha Christie." Anne Spencer was an important figure in the Harlem Renaissance. V.C. Andrews was so popular that when she died, a court ruled that her name was taxable, and the poetry of Susan Archer Talley Weiss received praise from Edgar Allan Poe. Professor and cemetery history enthusiast Sharon Pajka has written a guide to their accomplishments in life and to their final resting places.

1

CLEO VIRGINIA ANDREWS, “V.C. ANDREWS”

(1923–1986)

Olive Branch Cemetery, Portsmouth Garden location I187-8

Cleo Virginia Andrews was an author who used the penname V.C. Andrews, a decision made by her publishers in an attempt to not disclose that she was a woman.³⁶ Her first novel, Flowers in the Attic (1979), was published by Simon & Schuster’s Pocket Books imprint, and within two weeks, the contemporary gothic novel reached best-seller lists. The sequel, Petals on the Wind (1980), remained on the New York Times best-seller list for nineteen weeks. V.C. Andrews’s novels have sold over 107 million copies and have been translated into twenty-five languages.³⁷ Although there are more than eighty V.C. Andrews novels, Cleo Virginia Andrews published only seven during her lifetime. Andrews died of breast cancer in December 1986. Major newspapers carried Andrews’s obituary, but with new books being published posthumously—and the Andrews estate hiring a ghostwriter to continue writing novels mimicking the author’s style—her death was overlooked by many of her fans.

HER STORY

Cleo Virginia Andrews was born in Portsmouth on June 6, 1923, to a working-class family. Although in interviews she states that her childhood was a happy one, a fall during her teen years resulted in severe back pain and surgeries.³⁸

The headstone of author V.C. Andrews. Author’s collection.

Andrews worked as a commercial artist, portrait painter and fashion illustrator after her father’s death in 1957.³⁹ She began focusing on writing in the 1970s, with her first completed novel Gods of Green Mountain being written in 1972, although it would not be released until 2014.⁴⁰ Andrews published three gothic romances under a pen name and wrote confession stories, including “I Slept with My Uncle on My Wedding Night.”⁴¹ Andrews received a full request for her manuscript Flowers in the Attic in 1978. She sold the novel and received an advance of $7,500. By 1981, her third novel received a $75,000 advance.⁴²

As the popularity of her novels grew, in 1980, Andrews was interviewed by a reporter for People magazine who called her an “invalid” and noted that she had to stand at her desk in order to write, which she frequently did during long stretches of time. She felt the article portrayed her as a disabled and eccentric recluse.⁴³ Because of this, she refused requests for publicity and interviews, which perpetuated the myth.⁴⁴

In an August 23, 1983 letter to her mother, she writes, “Inside I knew all along that I was someone special and chosen.”⁴⁵ In 1984, Andrews was named “professional woman of the year” by the City of Norfolk. At this point, her novels had sold millions.⁴⁶ With the money, Andrews was able to build a house in Virginia Beach and hired a nurse to assist her when traveling.⁴⁷ By 1986, Flowers in the Attic was being made into a movie, with Kristy Swanson playing one of the lead roles as the character Cathy Dollanganger. Andrews made a cameo appearance playing the role of a maid. She died from breast cancer before the film was released in 1987.⁴⁸ Andrews was buried in Olive Branch Cemetery in Portsmouth, where she had spent her childhood.

The top of the marker is an open book that lists the author’s best-selling novels. Author’s collection.

In 1993, the Internal Revenue Service required the Andrews estate to pay taxes, arguing that the name V.C. Andrews was valued at $1.2 million. A Norfolk judge, however, ruled that the value of Andrews’s name was worth $703,000, which was the first time a court ruled that a deceased person’s name was taxable.⁴⁹

THE GRAVE

The memorial includes a large die on base monument and raised top markers for the author and her parents. The author’s marker is between the markers of her parents. It reads: “Daughter/Cleo Virginia Andrews/June 6, 1923/Dec. 19, 1986/Author.” The top of the large family marker reads: “Best Selling Novels/Flowers In The Attic/Petals On The Wind/If There Be Thorns/My Sweet Audrina/Seeds of Yesterday/Heaven/Dark Angels.” On the back of the grave marker is a long inscription from the author.

Three individual stones for the author and her parents are in front of this large marker. Author’s collection.

The back of the Andrews marker. Author’s collection.

Books opened doors I hadn’t even realized were there. They took me up and out of myself, back into the past, forward into the future, put me on the moon, placed me in palaces, in jungles, everywhere. When finally I did reach London and Paris—I’d been there before. When books fail to give me what I need, dreams supply the rest. A long time ago I dreamed I was rich and famous—and I saw flowers growing in the attic. Dreams can come true no matter what obstacles fate chooses to place as obstacles to hurdle, crawl under, or go around. Somehow I always manage to reach the far side.

What else can I say? To have a goal and achieve it, despite everything, is my only accomplishment. If I give a few million readers pleasure and escape along the way I do the same thing for myself.

Yours

[signature]

Virginia C. Andrews

HER WRITING

V.C. Andrews’s novels include gothic horror with family secrets and forbidden love. Three decades after Andrews’s death, her novels are still popular. In 2014, Flowers in the Attic was produced by Front Street Pictures Inc. for Lifetime Pictures starring Heather Graham as Corrine Dollanganger and Kiernan Shipka as Cathy Dollanganger. Lifetime has continued to make other films based on Andrews’s work, including Petals on the Wind (2014), If There Be Thorns (2015), Seeds of Yesterday (2015), My Sweet Audrina (2016) starring India Eisley and William Mosely, Heaven (2019), Dark Angel (2019), Fallen Heart (2019), Gates of Paradise (2019) and Web of Dreams (2019) starring Annalise Basso, Jason Priestley and Daphne Zuniga. Andrews’s novels are still in print and continue being written by a ghostwriter. More details about the upcoming releases can be found on the Simon & Schuster website.⁵⁰

NOT TO MISS

Approximately eighteen miles from the cemetery is the Grace Sherwood statue (4520–40 North Witchduck Road, Virginia Beach 23455). Called the Witch of Pungo, Sherwood is known as the last person convicted of witchcraft in Virginia. She was a midwife and an herbalist who allegedly “wore men’s trousers when planting crops.”⁵¹ She was imprisoned for eight years. In 2006, Sherwood was exonerated by the governor on the 300^th anniversary of her trial.⁵²

2

JANE BRIGGS HOWISON BEALE

(1815–1882)

Fredericksburg Cemetery, Fredericksburg Section 8, Lot 86, Stone 18

Jane Briggs Howison Beale was a diarist who is best known for her family’s experiences living in Fredericksburg during the Civil War. The Journal of Jane Howison Beale was published in 1979 by the Historic Fredericksburg Foundation Inc.; the original diary is on display at the Fredericksburg Area Museum and Cultural Center. The diarist and several of her family members are depicted in the film Gods and Generals (2003).⁵³

HER STORY

Jane Howison was born in 1815 in Fredericksburg. Her parents were prominent members of the community. At nineteen, she married William Churchill Beale. In 1850, after her husband died unexpectedly, she sold their mill to pay off their debts. She opened a girls’ school in her home and took in boarders.⁵⁴

Her journal begins on August 27, 1850, when she writes, “I am sad and lonely…I have been a widow four months and sorrow has made deep inroads upon my mind since that dreadful day....

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• HalfTitle
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• 1. Cleo Virginia Andrews, “V.C. Andrews” (1923–1986)
• 2. Jane Briggs Howison Beale (1815–1882)
• 3. Helen Gordon Beale (1834–1885)
• 4. Kate Lee Langley Bosher (1865–1932)
• 5. Rosa Dixon Bowser (1855–1931)
• 6. Estelle Aubrey Brown (1877–1958)
• 7. Ella Howard Bryan, “Clinton Dangerfield” (1872–1954)
• 8. Letitia “Lettie” McCreery Burwell (1831–1905)
• 9. Nancy Larrick Crosby (1910–2004)
• 10. Elizabeth “Lizzie” Petit Cutler (1831–1902)
• 11. Virginia Emeline Butts Davidson (1833–1911)
• 12. Varina Anne “Winnie” Davis (1864–1898)
• 13. Varina Anne Banks Howell Davis (1826–1906)
• 14. Judith L.C. Garnett (1862–1938)
• 15. Ellen Glasgow (1873–1945)
• 16. Lizzie Chambers Hall (1874–1965)
• 17. Constance Fairfax Cary Harrison (1843–1920)
• 18. Lucy Norvell Harrison (1878–1955)
• 19. Mary Jane Haw (1835–1927)
• 20. Mary Anna Morrison Jackson (1831–1915)
• 21. Mary Johnston (1870–1936)
• 22. Cornelia Jane Matthews Jordan (1830–1898)
• 23. Mary Greenhow Lee (1819–1907)
• 24. Mary Tucker Magill (1830–1899)
• 25. Julia Magruder (1854–1907)
• 26. Katherine Boyce Tupper Marshall (1882–1978)
• 27. Frances McEntee Martin (1906–1998)
• 28. Mabel Wood Martin (1888–1956)
• 29. Judith Brockenbrough McGuire (1813–1897)
• 30. Margaret Prescott Montague (1878–1955)
• 31. LaSalle “Sallie” Corbell Pickett (1843–1931)
• 32. Margaret Junkin Preston (1820–1897)
• 33. Eudora Woolfolk Ramsay Richardson (1891–1973)
• 34. Mary Roberts Rinehart (1876–1958)
• 35. Judith Page Walker Rives (1802–1882)
• 36. Ruby Thelma Altizer Roberts (1907–2004)
• 37. Sally Berkeley Nelson Robins (1855–1925)
• 38. Anne Spencer (1882–1975)
• 39. Mary Newton Stanard (1865–1929)
• 40. Amélie Louise Rives Chanler Troubetzkoy (1863–1945)
• 41. Edna Henry Lee Turpin (1867–1952)
• 42. Marie Teresa “Tere” Ríos Versace (1917–1999)
• 43. Susan Archer Talley Weiss (1822–1917)
• 44. Annie Steger Winston (1862–1927)
• Notes
• Select Bibliography
• About the Author