Louise Fitzhugh

Author profile

born

in Memphis, TN, The United States

October 05, 1928

died

November 19, 1974

gender

female

genre

Children's Books

About this author

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Born in Memphis, Tennessee. She attended Miss Hutchison's School and three different universities, without obtaining a degree. According to her obituary in the New York Times, Fitzhugh graduated from Barnard College in 1950. She lived most of her adult life in New York City and had houses in both Long Island and Bridgewater, Connecticut.

She was married briefly to Ed Thompson, whom she dated in high school. After high school, she primarily dated women.

Fitzhugh was the illustrator of the 1961 children's book Suzuki Beane, a parody of Eloise; while Eloise lived in the Plaza, Suzuki was the daughter of beatnik parents and slept on a mattress on the floor of a Bleecker Street pad in Greenwich Village. Fitzhugh worked closely with author Sandra S...more Born in Memphis, Tennessee. She attended Miss Hutchison's School and three different universities, without obtaining a degree. According to her obituary in the New York Times, Fitzhugh graduated from Barnard College in 1950. She lived most of her adult life in New York City and had houses in both Long Island and Bridgewater, Connecticut.

She was married briefly to Ed Thompson, whom she dated in high school. After high school, she primarily dated women.

Fitzhugh was the illustrator of the 1961 children's book Suzuki Beane, a parody of Eloise; while Eloise lived in the Plaza, Suzuki was the daughter of beatnik parents and slept on a mattress on the floor of a Bleecker Street pad in Greenwich Village. Fitzhugh worked closely with author Sandra Scoppettone to produce Suzuki Beane, which incorporated typewriter font and line drawings in an original way. Although a parody of both Eloise and beatnik conceit, the book sprang to life as a genuine work of literature. Today, it is a much sought-after book on used-book websites.

Fitzhugh's best-known book was Harriet the Spy, published in 1964 to some controversy since so many characters were far from admirable. It has since become a classic. As her New York Times' obituary, published November 19, 1974, states: "The book helped introduce a new realism to children's fiction and has been widely imitated". Harriet is the daughter of affluent New Yorkers who leave her in the care of her nanny, Ole Golly, in their Manhattan townhouse. Hardly the feminine girl heroine typical of the early 1960s, Harriet is a writer who notes everything about everybody in her world in a notebook which ultimately falls into the wrong hands. Ole Golly gives Harriet the unlikely but practical advice that: "Sometimes you have to lie. But to yourself you must always tell the truth". By and large, Harriet the Spy was well-received -- it was awarded a New York Times Outstanding Book Award in 1964 -- and has sold 4 million copies since publication. Two characters from the book, Beth Ellen and Sport, were featured in two of Fitzhugh's later books, The Long Secret and Sport. The Long Secret deals fairly honestly with female puberty; the main characters are pre-teen girls who discuss how their changing bodies feel.

Fitzhugh illustrated many of her books and had works exhibited in Banfer Gallery, New York, in 1963, among many other galleries.

She died in 1974 of a brain aneurysm. Her obituary was published in the New York Times.(less)

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Louise Fitzhugh's Books

Average rating: 3.96 · 44,536 ratings · 1,327 reviews · 14 distinct works · Similar authors

	Harriet the Spy 3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 avg rating — 42,235 ratings — published 1964 — 44 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Long Secret 3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 avg rating — 1,058 ratings — published 1965 — 22 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sport 3.62 of 5 stars 3.62 avg rating — 400 ratings — published 1980 — 14 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Nobody's Family Is Going to Change 3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 avg rating — 144 ratings — published 1974 — 9 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bang Bang You're Dead by Louise Fitzhugh, Sandra Scoppettone 3.72 of 5 stars 3.72 avg rating — 18 ratings — published 1979 — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	I Am Three by Louise Fitzhugh, Susanna Natti (Illustrator) 3.25 of 5 stars 3.25 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 1982 — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	I Am Four 3.33 of 5 stars 3.33 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 1986 — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	I Am Five 2.67 of 5 stars 2.67 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 1978 — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	I Know Everything About John & He Knows Everything About Me by Louise Fitzhugh, Lillian Hoban, Louise Ritzhugh 2.5 of 5 stars 2.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 1993	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Harriet the Spy, Double Agent by Louise Fitzhugh, Maya Gold 0.0 of 5 stars 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2009	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Louise Fitzhugh…

Series by Louise Fitzhugh

Harriet the Spy (3 books)
by Louise Fitzhugh
3.9648106598287467 of 5 stars 3.96 avg rating — 43,678 ratings

Quotes by Louise Fitzhugh

“Don't mess with anybody on a Monday. It's a bad, bad day.”
― Louise Fitzhugh, Harriet the Spy

51 people liked it

“[Harriet] hated math. She hated math with every bone in her body. She spent so much time hating it that she never had time to do it.”
― Louise Fitzhugh, Harriet the Spy

tags: humor

40 people liked it

“Ole Golly: You know what? You're an individual, and that makes people nervous. And it's gonna keep making people nervous for the rest of your life.”
― Louise Fitzhugh

tags: children-s-books

22 people liked it

See all Louise Fitzhugh's quotes »

Polls

What themed YA book (urban setting) would you like to read for March's group read?

Peeps by Scott Westerfeld

19 votes, 23.2%

Matched by Ally Condie

19 votes, 23.2%

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn

12 votes, 14.6%

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7 votes, 8.5%

The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer

7 votes, 8.5%

No and Me by Delphine de Vigan

6 votes, 7.3%

Timeless by Alexandra Monir

4 votes, 4.9%

Firespell by Chloe Neill

4 votes, 4.9%

Can't Get There from Here by Todd Strasser

3 votes, 3.7%

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh

1 vote, 1.2%

82 total votes

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