Literary Career
Speare's first published work was a magazine article about skiing with her children. She also wrote many other magazine articles based on her experiences as a mother, and even experimented with one-act plays. Eventually her work saw circulation in Better Homes and Gardens, Woman's Day, Parents, and American Heritage.
Speare published Calico Captive, her first novel, in 1957. The next year she completed her second historical fiction work, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, which won numerous awards, including the Newbery Medal. Ideas and inspiration for both books came to Speare while she was researching the history of New England and Connecticut, respectively. She earned her second Newbery Medal for her third book, The Bronze Bow, published in 1961. In 1984 The Sign of the Beaver was published and received a Newbery Honor citation, the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, and the Christopher Award. In 1989, Speare received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for her distinguished and enduring contribution to children's literature.
Speare died of an aortic aneurysm on November 15, 1994 in Northwest General Hospital in Tucson, Arizona.
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