Eliza Frances Andrews

Who was Eliza Frances Andrews?

Eliza Frances Andrews was a popular Southern writer of the Gilded Age. Her works were published in popular magazines and papers, including the New York World and Godey's Lady's Book. Her longer works included The War-Time Journal of a Georgian Girl and two botany textbooks.

Eliza Frances Andrews gained fame in three fields: authorship, education, and science. Her passion was writing and she had success both as an essayist and a novelist. Financial troubles forced her to take a teaching career after the deaths of her parents, though she continued to be published. In her retirement she combined two of her interests by writing two textbooks on botany entitled Botany All the Year Round and Practical Botany, one of which became popular in Europe and was translated for schools in France. The books and articles that Andrews published give a glimpse into a life of bitterness, dissatisfaction, and confusion.