Norris, Kathleen

Norris, Kathleen (b. Thompson) (1880–1966) writer; born in San Francisco. She was educated locally, and after the death of her parents (1899), she worked at a hardware store and a library to help support her siblings. She spent a few months at the University of California: Berkeley (1903), and wrote society columns for local newspapers. She married the writer Charles Gilman Norris (1909), and moved to New York City, although she maintained a home in California. She became known for her many (about 80) sentimental novels—including Mother (1911), The Venables (1941), and Through a Glass Darkly (1957)—and was such a success that she was reputed to be the highest paid American writer of her day. She also wrote serialized stories for national magazines and soap operas for radio.