Mary Q. Steele

Mary Quintard Govan Steele (May 8, 1922 – July 6, 1992) was an American author and naturalist. She wrote more than twenty books, mainly for children. One of them, Journey Outside, was a Newbery Honor Book. Steele sometimes wrote under the names Wilson Gage and J. N. Darby.

Biography

Early life Mary Quintard Govan Steele was born on May 8, 1922, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Gilbert and Christine N. Govan. She graduated from the University of Chattanooga.

Career Steele wrote in The Living Year, "I did not become a writer, but was born one, waking up in the morning to sort the day into scenes and characters and descriptions." One of her few books for adults, The Living Year: An Almanac for My Survivors (Viking, 1972) features Tennessee natural history. The Secret of Crossbone Hill, as Gage (1959) The Secret of the Fiery Gorge, as Gage (1960) Miss Osborne-the-Mop, as Gage (1963) Journey Outside, illus. Rocco Negri (1969) – Newbery Medal finalist The Living Year: An Almanac for My Survivors (1972), natural history The First of the Penguins (1973), science fantasy Squash Pie, as Gage (1976) Mrs. Gaddy and the Ghost, as Gage (1979) Cully Cully and the Bear, as Gage, illus. James Stevenson (1983) Anna's Summer Songs, illus. Lena Anderson (1988), poetry Anna's Garden Songs, illus. Anderson (1989), poetry