Alison Lurie was born on 3 September 1926 in Chicago, and brought up in White Plains, Westchester County, the child of progressive socialist parents. Her father, Harry, born in Latvia, was a sociologist and became the founder and director of The Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds, a social work agency. Her mother, Bernice Stewart, had supported herself from an early age, working her way through college, and then becoming a journalist for 15 years for the Detroit Free Press, editing the book and magazine section. As a result of a birth injury, which damaged her hearing and partly atrophied her facial muscles, Lurie became convinced that she would never marry, and was encouraged to concentrate on writing, …

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Citation: Newman, Judith Alice. "Alison Lurie". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 02 December 2008; last revised 24 June 2022. [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2821, accessed 07 October 2024.]

2821 Alison Lurie 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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