Gertrude Atherton

Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton was a prominent and prolific American author. Many of her novels are set in her home state of California. Her bestseller Black Oxen was made into a silent movie of the same name. In addition to novels, she wrote short stories, essays, and articles for magazines and newspapers on such issues as feminism, politics, and war. She was strongwilled, independentminded, and sometimes controversial.

Gertrude Franklin Horn was born on October 30, 1857, in San Francisco, California, to Thomas Ludovich Horn and his wife, the former Gertrude Franklin. Her parents separated when she was two years old, and she was raised by her maternal grandfather, Stephen Franklin, a devout Presbyterian and a relative of Benjamin Franklin. Grandfather Franklin insisted she be well read, and this influenced her greatly. She attended St. Marys Hall high school in Benicia, California, and, briefly, the Sayre School in Lexington, Kentucky.

Source: Wikipedia