Louise Amelia Knapp Smith was born in New Jersey in 1819. In 1848, she married Fayette Clapp and moved to San Francisco,
and subsequently to the mining town of Rich Bar in the Sierra foothills. The Herald first published Louise's letters
and poems in 1851 under the pseudonym of Dame Shirley. In 1856, Louise and Fayette divorced, and she went on to
become a well-respected schoolteacher and a leading figure in California's early literary scene. In 1878, Louise
moved back to the East Coast, and approximately twenty years later, she retired to Morristown, New Jersey, where
she died in 1906.
Review
"Of all the writers drawn to California between 1845 and the mid-1860s, [Clappe] speaks with the most original
voice. Her only real competition, in my view, is Mark Twain."
-James D. Houston, author, Californians: Searching for the Golden State
"The Shirley Letters is superb reading!"
-The Midwest Book Review
Heyday Books, March 2000
Summary
This beloved classic of California historical literature offers a vivid portrait of the exuberance and brutality
of gold rush life from a woman's perspective.
