Molly Elliot Seawell
(October 23, 1860 – November 15, 1916)

1767 P St. NW, Dupont Circle neighborhood, DC.

Seawell was a prolific author of widely-read historical romances and nautical stories for boys in the Gilded Age. She wrote over forty books of fiction, short fiction, and non-fiction, as well as numerous political columns from Washington for New York dailies.

Her books include: Little Jarvis (1890), A Virginia Cavalier (1897), Twelve Naval Captains (1898), The Fortunes of Fifi (1903), and The Whirl: A Romance of Washington Society (1909).

Seawell moved to DC in 1880, after her father's death, and lived here the rest of her life. Her house became a gathering place for upper-class artists and writers. Socially conservative, Seawell opposed feminism and suffrage for women, and her books often have overt Catholic overtones. Three of her stories were adapted into silent films.

Photo of author courtesy of Library of Congress.