Virginia Sorensen

Virginia Sorensen (née Eggertsen), also credited as Virginia Sorenson (February 17, 1912, – December 24, 1991) was an American writer. She was the author of the 1957 John Newbery Medal winning Miracles on Maple Hill, based in the Erie, Pennsylvania region where she lived at the time.[1]

Biography

Born at Provo, Utah, she grew up in Manti and American Fork, Utah.[2] Her first novel, A Little Lower Than the Angels, was written and published in 1942 while she resided in Terre Haute, Indiana, with her first husband Frederick C. Sorensen, a professor at Indiana State Teachers College, now Indiana State University. With its publication, Alfred Knopf declared, "I have seldom introduced a new novelist with the confidence I feel in the author of this remarkable book. It marks the debut, I believe, of a major American writer."[3] She is considered "one of Utah's premiere gifts to literary America."[3] Her first book for children, Curious Missy, grew out of her efforts with a bookmobile in Alabama.[2] She later divorced Sorensen and married Alec Waugh, son of Arthur Waugh and brother of Evelyn Waugh, in 1969. Her books are usually Mormon-themed.[4][5][6] She received two Guggenheim fellowships, one in 1946 to study tribe of Mexican Indians, and one in 1954 to study in Denmark as regards the history of Sanpete Valley's settlers.[6]

Bibliography

For adults A Little Lower than the Angels – 1942, Knopf On this Star – 1946, Reynal & Hitchcock The Neighbors – 1947, Reynal & Hitchcock The Evening and The Morning – 1949, Harcourt, Brace and Co. The Proper Gods – 1952, Harcourt, Brace & Co. Many Heavens – 1954, Harcourt & Brace Kingdom Come – 1960, Harcourt & Brace Where Nothing is Long Ago – 1963, Harcourt & Brace The Man with the Key – 1974, Harcourt Brace & Co. Jovanovich

For children Curious Missie – 1953, Harcourt Brace The House Next Door: Utah 1896; 1954, Scribners Plain Girl – 1955, Harcourt Brace, won the Child Study Award Miracles on Maple Hill – 1957, Harcourt Brace, won the Child Study Award and the 1957 John Newbery Medal Lotte's Locket – 1964, Harcourt Brace Around the Corner – 1973, Harcourt Brace Friends of the Road – 1978, Atheneum

See also

• Simon P. Eggertsen, Sr., House

References

1. Erie Hall of Fame Archived 2013-07-07 at the Wayback Machine, accessed April 26, 2012
2. Utah History Encyclopedia
3. In Memoriam, Sunstone Magazine, accessed April 26, 2012
4. "Virginia Sorensen, Mormon Novelist". Ldsfilm.com. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
5. "Virginia Sorensen Biography | Dictionary of Literary Biography Biography". Bookrags.com. 1912-02-17. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
6. "Virginia Sorensen - Kids Encyclopedia | Online Encyclopedia | Kids Online Dictionary | Britannica". Kids.britannica.com. 1912-02-17. Retrieved 2012-04-26.

External links

• Virginia Sorensen Waugh at Find a Grave
• Virginia Sorensen at Library of Congress Authorities — with 26 catalog records