Catherine Bowen

American writer
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Also known as: Catherine Shober Drinker
Quick Facts
Née:
Catherine Shober Drinker
Born:
January 1, 1897, Haverford, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died:
November 1, 1973, Haverford (aged 76)
Also Known As:
Catherine Shober Drinker

Catherine Bowen (born January 1, 1897, Haverford, Pennsylvania, U.S.—died November 1, 1973, Haverford) was an American historical biographer known for her partly fictionalized biographies. After attending the Peabody Institute and the Juilliard School of Music, she became interested in writing. Not surprisingly, her earliest works were inspired by the lives of musicians.

Her biography of the Elizabethan jurist Sir Edward Coke, The Lion and The Throne (1957), won her the National Book Award in 1958. Her many other books include Beloved Friend (1937), about the relationship of Tchaikovsky and Nadezhda von Meck; Yankee from Olympus: Justice Holmes and His Family (1944); John Adams and the American Revolution (1950); and Miracle at Philadelphia: The Story of the Constitutional Convention, May to September 1787 (1966).

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.