Emilie Loring

Emilie Loring (Emilie Baker Loring, 1866-1951) was an American author of romantic novels, whose 30 books published in her lifetime blended romance with adventure. She was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on 5 September 1866 and died in Wellesley, Massachusetts, on 13 March 1951.

She came from a Boston family of writers and publishers: her father, George M. Baker, was a playwright and publisher, and her grandfather founded the penny paper that became the Boston Herald. She married Victor J. Loring, a lawyer, and raised two sons. Her first book, For the Comfort of the Family (George H. Doran, 1914), appeared under the pseudonym Josephine Story. Her first novel, The Trail of Conflict, followed from Penn in 1922, when she was 56. Penn published her novels until 1937 and Little, Brown from 1938; Lighted Windows (1930) was her ninth book. After her death 20 more books appeared under her name between 1952 and 1972, all from Little, Brown.

For collectors

Her lifetime first editions come in two runs: the Penn books of 1922 to 1937, beginning with The Trail of Conflict, and the Little, Brown firsts from 1938. Grosset and Dunlap reprinted all 30 lifetime novels in 1961, so checking the publisher separates true firsts from these reprints.