Elsie Lee

Elsie Williams was born in Brooklyn, New York to Helen (Bogert) and Samuel Byron Williams, Jr.^[1] Samuel was a telephone engineer born in Ohio, who worked for Western Electric in New York City.^[2] Helen was a housewife.^[3] When Elsie was 13 years old, a brother, David G. Williams, was born.^[4]

Elsie began cooking at age eight, attended Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania from 1928 to 1932, and attended the Pratt Institute^[5] from 1932 to 1933.^[1]

Elsie married Morton Lee on December 27, 1941. She was a member of the Society of Friends (Quakers), the Authors Guild of Authors League of America, and Mensa. Her interests included cats, cooking, music, bridge, two-pack solitaire games, word games, and jigsaw puzzles.^[1]

Elsie worked as a librarian for Price, Waterhouse & Company 1937–1942; as an office manager for Reeves Laboratories 1942–1945; a librarian for the Gulf Oil Company 1947–1951; an executive secretary for Andrews, Clark & Buckley 1951-53 (all in New York City); and as a writer from 1945 until her death.^[1] She mentions in Elsie Lee's Book of Simple Gourmet Cookery that she lived in Washington for six years, and Hollywood for three.^[6]

Elsie began writing in the 1940s, selling her first stories to the Ladies Home Journal.^[7] She described her writing this way: "I write fairy tales for grownups, principally women... I am better at characterizations than plots, and best with cats who are unanimously adored by my readers... I will not compromise on the quality of vocabulary and grammar in my books... it is a writer's responsibility to TEACH subtly through entertainment..."^[7]

Her pseudonyms included Elsie Cromwell, Jane Gordon, and Lee Sheridan.

Elsie Williams Lee died February 8, 1987, at the age of 75 while living in New York City.^[8][9]

Fiction

• The Blood Red Oscar (1962)
• Sam Benedict: Cast the First Stone∞ (1963) (The cover wrongly attributes another writer, the prolific tie-in novelist and pulp fiction veteran Norman Daniels, who may initially have had the assignment, but Lee is credited on the title page.) A novelization of the episode "Twenty Aching Years", teleplay by Ellis Marcus.
• The Comedy of Terrors∞ (1964), based on the screenplay by Richard Matheson
• The Masque of the Red Death∞ (1964), based on the screenplay by Charles Beaumont and R. Wright Campbell
• Muscle Beach Party∞ (1964), based on the screenplay by Robert Dillon
• Clouds Over Vellanti (1965)
• Dark Moon, Lost Lady (1965)
• The Doctor's Office (1965)
• The Curse of Carranca (1966)
• The Drifting Sands (1966)
• Mansion of Golden Windows (1966)
• Season of Evil (as Jane Gordon) (1966)
• Sinister Abbey (1967)
• The Spy at the Villa Miranda (1967)
• Fulfillment (1968)
• Barrow Sinister (1969)
• The Governess (as Elsie Cromwell) (1972)
• Satan's Coast (1969)
• Ivorstone Manor (as Elsie Cromwell) (1970)
• The Diplomatic Lover (1971)
• Star of Danger (1971)
• Silence is Golden (1971)
• Wingarden (1971)
• The Passions of Medora Graeme (1972)
• Prior Betrothal (1973)
• The Wicked Guardian (1973)
• Second Season (1973)
• An Eligible Connection (1975)
• The Nabob's Widow (1976)
• Roommates (1976)
• Mistress of Mount Fair (1977)

∞Novelizations of a television show or screenplay

Non-fiction

• How to Get the Most Out of Your Tape Recording (with Michael Sheridan as Lee Sheridan) (1958)
• More Fun with Your Tape Recordings and Stereo (with Michael Sheridan as Lee Sheridan) (1958)
• The Exciting World of Rocks and Gems (1959)
• The Bachelor's Cookbook (with Michael Sheridan as Lee Sheridan) (1962)
• Easy Gourmet Cooking (1962)
• At Home with Plants: A Guide to Successful Indoor Gardening (1966)
• Second Easy Gourmet Cookbook (1968)
• Elsie Lee's Book of Simple Gourmet Cookery (1971)
• Elsie Lee's Party Cookbook (1974)