Dorothy Giles (April 27, 1892, Cold Spring, New York – December 29, 1960, Cold Spring, New York) was a freelance writer, journalist, editor, author of several books,[1][2] and a local historian.[3]

Biography

The parents of Dorothy Giles, Richard Giles (1861–1918) and Ida Rosina Webb married in June 1891, in New York City. Dr. Richard Giles was a physician who practiced medicine on Fair Street in Cold Spring, Putnam County, New York.[4] Dorothy Giles's brother Richard L. Giles was born in 1895. Dorothy Giles studied art and languages and graduated from the Cathedral School of St. Mary, the sister school of St. Paul's School in Garden City, New York.[5]

While pursuing her career as a journalist, Dorothy Giles, for many years, grew vegetables, flowers, and fruits in a home garden in Cold Spring, her hometown along the banks of the Hudson River.[6][2] She published the 1922 pamphlet Down the Garden Path[7] and the 1926 book The Little Kitchen Garden.[2] As an influential member of the Putnam County Historical Society, Dorothy Giles had a home on Pauling Avenue in Cold Spring and was active in community affairs.[3] In 1924 her book Adventures in Brotberhood was published.[8]

Giles wrote two travel books: The Road Through Spain (1929)[9] and The Road Through Czechoslovakia (1930).[10] Tomáš Masaryk, President of Czechoslovakia, honored her for her 1930 travel book — she became the first woman to receive the silver medal of the Order of the White Lion, Knight Class.[1][2] She became a member of the American Friends of Czechoslovakia (an American association which helped Czechoslovakian refugees during and after both World Wars). She also belonged to the Pen and Brush Club.

Giles was a staff member of Cosmopolitan Magazine from 1933 to 1939.[1][2] In 1940 Random House published her book Singing Valleys: The Story of Corn[11][12] — the food historian Cynthia Clampitt[13] called the book a "classic".[14] Among Dartmouth College Library's archival and manuscript collections, there is the Singing Valleys typescript with handwritten corrections and printer's marks.[5]

In 1945, the famous singer Sophie Tucker published an autobiography Some of These Days: The Autobiography of Sophie Tucker, written in collaboration with Dorothy Giles.[15][1] Giles was a ghostwriter for Gypsy Rose Lee, among other celebrities.[3] Giles was a ghostwriter for Edwin Main Post Jr.'s 1961 book Truly Emily Post.[16]

In 1949, G. P. Putnam's Sons published Giles's book A candle in her hand; a story of the nursing schools of Bellevue Hospital.[17] She was a member of the American Craftsmen's Educational Council, which initiated the exhibition "Designer Craftsmen U.S.A. 1953". The exhibition opened at the Brooklyn Museum and was subsequently displayed at the Art Institute of Chicago and the San Francisco Museum of Art.[18] The 72-page exhibition catalogue contains 111 black-and-white images and a 10-page essay by Dorothy Giles.[19]

After Dorothy Giles died in December 1960, her collaborator Irma Franklin completed their historical and genealogical compilation Thomas Davenport, Philipstown pioneer, 1682-1759, and his descendants, which was published in 1962 by the Putnam County Historical Society.[20]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Dorothy Giles, 68, an Author, Adviser". The New York Times. 31 December 1960.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Michel, Carol J. (12 June 2022). "Lost Ladies of Garden Writing: Dorothy Giles".
  3. 1 2 3 Grace, Trudie A. (2011). Around Cold Spring. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia. p. 78. ISBN 9780738575971. LCCN 2011923112.
  4. ↑ Cold Spring Historic District Review Board (December 2012). "Significant personages associated with the Julia L. Butterfield Memorial Board" (PDF). coldspringny.gov. pp. 1–8. (See p. 5.)
  5. 1 2 "Giles, Dorothy, 1892-1960". Dartmouth Library Archives & Manuscripts.
  6. ↑ Giles, Dorothy (1926). "Preface by Mrs. Francis King, series editor". The Little Kitchen Garden. The Little Garden Series. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. LCCN 26019133. (Louisa Boyd Yeomans King published under name "Mrs. Francis King".)
  7. ↑ Giles, Dorothy (1922). Down the garden path. New York, McCall's Magazine.
  8. ↑ Giles, Dorothy (1924). Adventures in Brotherhood. LCCN 24023249; viii+184 pages{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  9. ↑ Giles, Dorothy (1929). The Road through Spain. Philadelphia: The Penn Publishing Company. LCCN 29020896.
  10. ↑ Giles, Dorothy (1930). Road through Czechoslovakia. Philadelphia: The Penn Publishing Company. LCCN 30031730.
  11. ↑ Giles, Dorothy (1940). Singing valleys: the story of corn. New York: Random House. LCCN 40031809.
  12. ↑ Hussey, Roland Dennis (1942). "Reviewed work: Singing Valleys: The Story of Corn by Dorothy Giles". Pacific Historical Review. 11 (3): 365. doi:10.2307/3633572. JSTOR 3633572.
  13. ↑ "Cynthia Clampitt". The Society of Midland Authors (midlandauthors.org).
  14. ↑ Clampitt, Cynthia (28 February 2015). Midwest Maize: How Corn Shaped the U.S. Heartland. University of Illinois Press. p. 13. ISBN 9780252096877.
  15. ↑ Some of These Days: The Autobiography of Sophie Tucker. (Some of These Days is a song made famous by Sophie Tucker.)
  16. ↑ Warner, Jennifer (2014). Minding Her Manners: The Life and Times of Emily Post.
  17. ↑ Giles, Dorothy (1949). A candle in her hand; a story of the nursing schools of Bellevue Hospital. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. LCCN 49011968.
  18. ↑ "Designer Craftsmen U.S.A. 1953". American Craft Council.
  19. ↑ "Designer Craftsmen U.S.A. 1953, exhibition catalogue, American Craftsmen's Educational Council". modernism101.com.
  20. ↑ Thomas Davenport, Philipstown pioneer, 1682-1759, and his descendants. Cold Spring, N.Y.: Putnam County Historical Society. 1962. LCCN 62020892; Dorothy Giles and Irma Franklin{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link); Revised & enlarged edition. 1975. LCCN 75006507.
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