Lilian Cleo Garis, born Lilian Cleo McNamara (20 October 1873 â 19 April 1954), was an American author who wrote hundreds of books of juvenile fiction between around 1915 and the early 1940s. Prior to this, she was the first female reporter for the Newark Evening News in New Jersey. Garis and her husband, Howard R. Garis, were possibly the most prolific children's authors of the early 20th century.
Lilian McNamara was born in 1872 in Cleveland, Ohio. Her parents were Irish immigrants Edward and Winifred. By 1880, the family lived in Belleville, New Jersey the setting of her first book . The Newark Evening News reported that she'd submitted a poem "when a schoolgirl" and "a request to call at the office resulted in her being taken on by the local staff of which she was the youngest member." Her work appears under the name Lillian (or Lilian) Mack in the Sunday Call and Newark News from at least 1892, however, this story suggests she had earlier items published.
Lilian attended private schools including Dunkirk Union School. In 1893 her poem "Peace" was featured in the New Jersey Scrapbook of Women Writers created for the World's Columbian Exposition. At this point she used an alternate name "Lillian Mack" and lives in Newark.
Lilian was in charge of "Woman's Work" in the Newark Evening News from 1895 to 1900 and was known as "Miss Mack" or "Lilian Mack". Lillian was also a suffragette.
Lilian met Howard Garis at the Newark Evening News and the couple married in 1900. In 1951, they moved from East Orange, New Jersey to Amherst, Massachusetts. They had two children Roger and Cleo.
For the Stratemeyer Syndicate Garis wrote under the pseudonym Margaret Penrose and Laura Lee Hope, with her works including some of the earliest books in the Bobbsey Twins series as well as the Dorothy Dale series. But Mrs. Garis also wrote some books under her own name.
Lilian died April 19, 1954.
Sources:
First published by R. F. Fenno; also by Donohue
Originally printed by Milton Bradley, then by Grosset & Dunlap and Whitman.
Two versions were printed of the first six books, one with cover art by Ruth King and one by Pelagie Doane (best known for her work on the Judy Bolton series). The series follows Carol Duncan and her sister and friends as they solve mysteries around Melody Lane. The events they encounter are standard series book fare of the time period; and are often criticized for their dated writing style and slow moving plots.