Writer. Elswyth Thane was a twentieth century romantic historical novelist. Her most recognized work was a seven-novel series entitled “Williamsburg”, which was about a family from the Revolutionary War to World War II. Born Helen Ricker, her parents were Edith and Maurice Ricker, both educators. In 1918, the family moved form Iowa to New York City. Helen Ricker decided to take the pen name of “Elswyth Thane” as she began her writing career in newspapers and screen plays for silent movies. In 1926, her first novel, “Riders of the Wind”, was published, which was about a May-December romance. In New York she met noted zoologist William Beebe, a prominent naturalist and pioneering deep sea explorer, who was a widower about twice her age. They were married on a friend’s yacht in September 22, 1927 with many celebrities in attendance including Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt. They had a long working honeymoon sailing the around the world. Thane was very detailed in her novels and often traveled abroad doing research. In the fall of 1933, a portion of her novel, “The Tudor Wench,” which was about Queen Elizabeth I, was transformed into a play at the Alhambra Theater in London. She had spent five summers researching the book at the British Museum. World War II put a halt to her visits to England. The couple enjoyed a luxurious New York City apartment and a farm in Vermont, and after Beebe’s death in 1962, the farm, which was her part of his vast estate, became her permanent home. A 1950 novel, “Reluctant Farmer”, portrayed her life with Beebe on the farm. Thane wrote more than 30 books, both fiction and nonfiction. Her easy-reading biographies tell the stories of Disraeli, George and Martha Washington, Dolly Madison and other historical figures, but she did not write her husband’s. Her last book, “Fighting Quaker: Nathaniel Greene,” was published in 1972. She had a huge library and after her death, donated many of her papers and books to the University of Iowa.  (bio by: Linda Davis)  Family links:  Spouse:  Charles William Beebe (1877 – 1962)