About the Author: Susan Keating Glaspell

Early Life and Education

Susan Keating Glaspell was born on July 1, 1876, in Davenport, Iowa, to Elmer Glaspell, a hay farmer, and Alice Keating, a public school teacher. She was an active student at Davenport High School, where she took an advanced course of study and gave a commencement speech at her 1894 graduation. Glaspell graduated in 1899 from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.

Career and Achievements

After graduating, Glaspell worked as a reporter for the Des Moines Daily News and wrote a column there called “The News Girl.” In 1901, she resigned this post to return to Davenport and concentrate on writing fiction. Glaspell published her first novel, "The Glory of the Conquered," in 1909, which enjoyed some success despite being a romance of little distinction.

In 1912, a collection of previously published stories appeared under the title "Lifted Masks." The following year, she married George Cram Cook, a longtime friend and the literary and radical son of a wealthy Davenport family. Together, they founded the influential Provincetown Players in 1915.

Glaspell's work was not limited to novels and plays. She also wrote short stories, many of which contain themes similar to what she had written about in her column. Her stories from this period are among her finest, and it was during her time as a playwright that Glaspell also established herself as one of the most noted of the modern American short story writers.

In 1931, Glaspell was only the second woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for drama, for her play "Alison’s House."

Influence on American Literature

Glaspell's life and work reflected the dramatic changes of the early and middle 20th century. As opportunities for women began to slowly expand, she jumped at every offer that came her way. Her depictions of unconventional relationships, marriages, and family lives were sometimes disdained and judged inconsequential by critics and readers, but they were groundbreaking for their time.

One of Glaspell's most notable works is the short story "A Jury of Her Peers," which was largely unrecognized at the time of its publication in 1917. However, feminists in the 1970s revived Glaspell’s short story, applauding its innovative exploration of the gender inequalities affecting women’s lives in both the public and private spheres.

Personal Life and Relationships

In 1913, Glaspell married George Cram Cook, a classics scholar and twice-divorced iconoclast from Davenport. The couple settled in Provincetown, Massachusetts, during the summer months and spent their winters in New York City. In 1922, Glaspell and Cook established themselves at Delphi, Greece, where he died two years later. Glaspell returned to New York and in 1927 published a biography of her husband entitled "The Road to the Temple."

A Jury of Her Peers

"A Jury of Her Peers" is a short story by Susan Glaspell that describes the investigation of a mysterious murder in rural Dickson County. The story explores gender roles in the early twentieth-century, the effects of isolation on people’s emotional and mental states, and the duty of neighbors to help one another. It also comments directly on the sexism of this period in American history and the prejudices inherent in the belief that women’s proper and only place is in the kitchen.

The story begins with a woman named Martha Hale being abruptly called to ride to the scene of a murder. The victim is John Wright, and his wife, Minnie Wright, is the prime suspect. As the men carry out their investigation, they overlook key pieces of evidence that the women discover, leading them to understand the motive behind the crime.

"A Jury of Her Peers" is a powerful exploration of the world of women versus the world of men, and the conflicts between gender loyalty and the male-dominated legal system. It is a story that encourages readers to question societal norms and to consider the importance of understanding and empathy in the pursuit of justice.