A bit uneven overall, but I really enjoyed the good parts of this biography. For me, it's endlessly fascinating to read about lesbians from history + the homes, social circles, and communities they made their lives in. Louise's early years + New York days were my favorite sections to read for sure, as well as the parts that explored her ideas about art, artists, writing, and children. (Also the tea about Patricia Highsmith and her literary girlfriend having a fiery breakup + then writing each other's dramatized deaths into their future works?? So dramatic, I loved it hah.)

My main complaint is there are faaaar too few photos!! For such a prolific artist, not one of her paintings is included, maybe because of permissions etc? I just found that bizarre. But overall this was a great read + it's just so powerful to find out all these years later that one of my favorite books as a kid was written by such a sharp, independent, funny, + queer force.

I wish this book was 200 pages shorter. I loved learning about Fitzhugh's parents, lesbian life in NYC in the 40sish and the impact of Harriet the Spy. But inbetween that was just an edless list of people she dated and places she moved and it was important, sure, but it could have been condensed in a way that made it feel more meaningful than a notebook dump. There's a good story here, but it needs editing.

While Harriet the Spy was a childhood favorite for me, I hadn't realized how important it was in the history of children's literature, and that history was fascinating.

Brody does a good job at bringing to life the creator of ‘Harriet the Spy’ and the author of the books that Harriet inhabited. She also recreates the various milieus that shaped Louise Fitzhugh: the outwardly genteel, inwardly vicious South of the 1930s and 1940s; the bohemian, experimentalist years in New York City and Paris; and the more settled, creative environment of Connecticut and Long Island. Despite her success in art and children’s literature, the Fitzhugh that emerges is a woman never quite comfortable in her own skin: diffident, slightly paranoid, an out lesbian who lived with partners mostly in the closet, and a creative who perhaps never quite lived up to her own expectations. Nevertheless, in her friends and her readers she stimulated intense loyalty and pride in her accomplishments. Brody is not a historian, so if her contextualization of Fitzhugh’s life and work is a little light for my taste, still she cannot be faulted for the extensive research she put into her research.

This book in no way does tribute to an extraordinary life.

"I can't abide a male human being in my bed."
Bitchin'.

A glimpse into a fascinating life. The scant photos included are deeply unsatisfying, and there’s still so much we don’t know — likely because of the restrictions Brody describes in the final chapters, of access to Fitzhugh’s papers, which are not in any one collection.

Harriet the Spy was one of those children's books that was formative for me. I still remember buying a copy at one of the school book fairs they had (do they still do those?) I was probably 12 and I remember being riveted. The book has held up on rereads throughout my life--and yes, I have reread it as an adult. I loved The Long Secret too and even Sport. It took me till adulthood to find a copy of Nobody's Family Is Going to Change.

One thing I have never forgotten was Ole Golly's advice to Harriet which is the title of this biography.

I remember being mildly curious about Fitzhugh as a person but in those days you had to hit the reference books to find out stuff about authors and even once I knew how to do that, there wasn't all that much.

This book fills a gap. Fitzhugh, it turns out, was an absolutely fascinating person. I won't go into too much detail, but my only complaint about the book is that there aren't any reproductions of her artwork, which now I think I have to hunt down.

The biography is a very readable and well researched without being dense.

Harriet the Spy was my favourite book as a kid. It inspired me to become a journalist and helped shape the course of my career. And yet I knew almost nothing about Harriet's creator, Louise Fitzhugh. As a lesbian writer in the 1960s, her coded and subtle messages for queer kids growing up (like me) subconsciously entered my brain. I'm so glad I found Harriet as a child, and I hope she continues to inspire all kids in the future. As for Louise, her life was cut short, but the life she led was big (compared to her small stature!). This book was a great bio of the author and I'm so glad I now know the history behind my favourite book.

One of two fantastic biographies of queer literary icons in the past year (the other being My Autobiography of Carson McCullers by Jenn Shetland) — each with a different approach. This was an engaging and thoughtful telling of the life of Louise Fitzhugh, with input and perspective from those who knew her. There’s also some interesting LGBTQ history. I enjoyed hearing more from Marijane Meaker (Highsmith) and would love to hear more of her own story soon.

Heard about this book on Twitter and I am so glad I picked it up. It was fascinating.