Carolyn Gold Heilbrun (13 January, 1926 – 9 October, 2003) was an American writer and academic.
1) Mrs. Heilbrun was born in East Orange, New Jersey
2) She wrote under the pen name of Amanda Cross.
3) Her mystery novels were translated into several languages and sold almost a million copies worldwide.
4) Mrs. Heilbrun’s husband, Jerome, was an economist.
5) She got her master’s and PhD after her marriage.
6) Amanda Cross’ protagonist was Kate Fansler, an English professor like Ms. Heilbrun.
7) Mrs. Heilbrun liked solitude (despite, or maybe because, being a mother of three), at age 68 she bought a home to use by herself.
8) She was the first woman to receive tenure in the English department at Columbia University.
9) As celebrated as she was, Ms. Heilbrun had complaints against Columbia University for discrimination. She said “When I spoke up for women’s issues, I was made to feel unwelcome in my own department, kept off crucial committees, ridiculed, ignored. Ironically, my name in the catalogue gave Columbia a reputation for encouraging feminist studies in modernism. Nothing could be further from the truth.”
10) Ms. Heilbrun committed suicide because she felt her life was “complete”, according to a letter she left behind.
Zohar – Man of la Book
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