Elsie Lee

Elsie Lee (née Williams) was an American author of over 35 fiction and non-fiction books.

Elsie Williams was born in Brooklyn, New York to Helen (Bogert) and Samuel Byron Williams, Jr. Samuel was a telephone engineer. Helen was a housewife. When Elsie was 13 years old a brother, David G. Williams, was born.

Elsie began cooking at age 8, attended Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, PA from 1928-1932, and attended the Pratt Institute from 1932-33.

Elsie married Morton Lee on December 27, 1941. She was a member of the Society of Friends (Quakers), the Authors Guild of Authors League of America, and Mensa. Her interests included cats, cooking, music, bridge, two-pack solitaire games, word games, and jigsaw puzzles.

Elsie worked as a librarian, an office manager, an executive secretary (all in New York City), and as a writer from 1945 until her death. She mentions in Elsie Lee's Book of Simple Gourmet Cookery that she lived in Washington for six years, and Hollywood for three.

Elsie began writing in the 1940s, selling her first stories to the Ladies Home Journal. She described her writing this way: "I write fairy tales for grownups, principally women... I am better at characterizations than plots, and best with cats who are unanimously adored by my readers... I will not compromise on the quality of vocabulary and grammar in my books... it is a writer's responsibility to TEACH subtly through entertainment..."

Elsie Williams Lee died February 8, 1987 at the age of 75 while living in New York City. -- adapted from Wikipedia