Eleanor Hoyt Brainerd (January 31, 1868-March 18, 1942) was an American author of the early 20th century. She published at least 10 novels, mostly written for young women.

Childhood

Eleanor was born at Plum Grove Historic House, the historic home of Robert Lucas, in Iowa City. Her parents, Walter Hoyt and Louisa Smith were active in the abolitionist movement, Walter's family helped found the Eleutherian College. Eleanor's 1919 novel, Our Little Old Lady, is a biography of her parents.

Career

Eleanor began her professional career in New York City as a writer and editor for the New York Sun, specializing in fashion writing. Her novel In Vanity Fair drew heavily from her coverage of fashion in Paris and New York. She published extensively in magazines, including Collier’s, The Girls’ Own Paper, Ladies' Home Journal, The Saturday Evening Post, and Everybody’s Magazine, typically in serial format. Her fictional novels often follow the same formual as the Pollyanna or Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm series, in which a young girl, often an orphan, tries to improve the lives of adults through pluck and daring.
Three of Eleanor Hoyt Brainerd's novels were made into silent films, Pegeen (1920), How Could You Jean? (1918), and For Love of Mary Ellen (1915). The most famous of these, How Could You Jean?, was directed by William Desmond Taylor and starred Mary Pickford. It was released in 1918.

Personal life

Many of her novels were written in East Hampton, Connecticut, at her “Faraway Farm” retreat. Eleanor married Charles Chisholm Brainerd, an attorney, in 1904. Charles was the nephew of the well-known writer Margaret Elizabeth Sangster. Charles and Eleanor retired to Pasadena, California, and are buried in Oakland Cemetery, Iowa City.

Published novels

• 1902 The Misdemeanors of Nancy. Doubleday, New York. Republished in 1903 and 1904 (as Eleanor Hoyt).

• 1904 Nancy’s Country Christmas, and Other Stories. illustr. Anna Whelan Betts, Doubleday, New York.

• 1905 Concerning Belinda. Doubleday, New York. Reprinted 1969, Books for Library Press, Freeport, New York.

• 1906 In Vanity Fair: A Tale of Frocks and Femininity. Moffat, Yard and Co., New York.

• 1907 Bettina. Doubleday, New York.

• 1910 The Personal Conduct of Belinda. Doubleday, New York.

• 1912 For Love of Mary Ellen: A Romance of Childhood. Harper, New York.

• 1915 Pegeen. Century, New York.

• 1917 How Could You, Jean? Doubleday, Garden City, New York.

• 1919 Our Little Old Lady. Doubleday, Garden City, New York.