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Wednesday, March 13, 2002

Agnes S. Turnbull was among the gifted women authors from Western Pennsylvania. She was born in 1888 in New Alexandria, Westmoreland County, and, as she frequently said, "lived a completely happy and normal childhood." Her early years provided an intimate source for the description of small-town life.

After attending a boarding school for girls, she furthered her education at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (then Indiana Normal School) and did post-graduate work at the University of Chicago. In 1918, she married James L. Turnbull, and they settled in Maplewood, N.J.

Turnbull's writing career began with the first short story she sold to American Magazine in 1920. For the next 10 years, she limited her work to short stories. In 1930, she published her first novel, "The Rolling Years." It was so successful that it went to 30 reprints.

When asked why she preferred writing novels, she replied, "Novels have a longer book shelf life, both at home and in libraries." As a writer, she enjoyed crafting deep plots. She also liked the rewards of expressed appreciation of her readers. Her writing was confined to mornings and was done on lined paper in pencil, with the tablet situated on a pillow on her lap.

Turnbull wrote 15 novels. "The King's Orchard," a tale of James O'Hara with a Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania background, probably was her most famous book locally.

She continued to write until the age of 90. Her last book, "Two Bishops," was published two years before her death in 1982. One critic wrote, "If you have never read any of her novels, you are missing an enjoyable part of your history."

-- By Dr. E. Kenneth Vey, History Center Library and Archives volunteer