Henrietta Buckmaster
Henrietta Delancey Henkle (10 March 1909 – 26 April 1983), better known by her pen name Henrietta Buckmaster, was an activist, journalist, and author best known for writing historical studies and novels.[2] She was also active in the civil rights movement.[3][4]
Henrietta Buckmaster | |
|---|---|
| Born | Henrietta Delancey Henkle March 10, 1909 |
| Died | April 26, 1983 (aged 74) |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Henrietta Henkle Stephens |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Notable work | Let My People Go Deep River[1] |
| Spouse | Peter John Stephens |
Biography
Buckmaster was born in Cleveland, Ohio[5] in 1909 to editor Rae D. Henkle and Pearl (Wintermute) Henkle and grew up in New York city. She attended Friends Seminary and the Brearley School.[2]
Buckmaster became a journalist and author focusing on historical books and novels, as well as being a book reviewer for some time. A major theme of her books was human freedom, and her subjects were often American slaves and women.[2] In 1944 she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship,[4] for which she received a sponsorship from W.E.B. Du Bois.[6] Her most well known book, Let My People Go, focused on the Underground Railroad and the Abolition movement.[7][4] Her writing was praised for "without departing from fact" being "as dramatic as it is informative."[8] She combined scholarship with the "concern of the civil libertarian."[2]
Buckmaster was also involved in the civil-rights movement, as well as fighting for the rights of American Indians and prisoners.[4] She played a role as one of the leaders of The Committee for Equal Justice.[3]
Personal life
She was briefly married to Peter John Stephens, and wrote under the name Henrietta Henkle Stephens. She died in 1983 after a short illness at 74.[4]
Partial list of published works
- Tomorrow Is Another Day (1934)
- His End Was His Beginning (1936)
- Let My People Go (1941)
- Deep River (1944)
- Fire in the Heart (1948)
- Bread from Heaven (1952)
- And Walk in Love (1956)
- Lucy and Loki (1958)
- Flight to Freedom (1958)
- All the Living (1962)
- Walter Raleigh: Man of Two Worlds (1964)
- Paul: A Man Who Changed the World (1965)
- Freedom Bound (1965)
- The Seminole Wars (1966)
- Women Who Shaped History (1966)
- The Lion in the Stone (1968)
- The Fighting Congressmen: Thaddeus Stevens, Hiram Revels, James Rapier, Blanche K. Bruce (1971)
- The Walking Trip (1972)
- Wait Until Evening (1974)
References
- "Henrietta Buckmaster". Find a grave. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
- "Buckmaster, Henrietta". encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
- McGuire, Danielle L. At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and Resistance--a New History of the Civil Rights Movement from Rosa Parks to the Rise of Black Power New York: Vintage Books, 2011. p. 26.
- "HENRIETTA BUCKMASTER, 74, WAS A NOVELIST AND EDITOR". New York Times. 27 April 1983.
- "Let My People Go The Story of the Underground Railroad and the Growth of the Abolitionist Movement". University of South Carolina press. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
- "Letter from Henrietta Buckmaster to W. E. B. Du Bois, April 5, 1944". umass.edu. UMass Amherst. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
- Reddick, L. D. (1 April 1941). "Henrietta Buckmaster, Let My People Go; the Story of the Underground Railroad...". The Journal of African American History. 26 (2): 256.
- "Henrietta Buckmaster, a distinguished author of books for both children and adults, projects in her history of the..." Kirkus Reviews. 1 August 1958. Retrieved 3 June 2020.