Order of Elswyth Thane Books
Helen Elswyth Thane Ricker Beebe was an American author and screenwriter. She mostly wrote romance novels and was perhaps best known for her Women of Williamsburg series of books. These historical fictions books cover multiple generations of two families living from the American Revolutionary War up until World War II.
Helen Ricker was born in 1900 in Burlington, Iowa as the daughter of a local teacher and high school principal. When the family moved to New York in 1918, Helen Ricker would become Elswyth Thane. She worked as a journalist, a Hollywood screenwriter, and a newspaper writer before publishing her first book in 1926. She published books throughout her life, but her last work, Fighting Quaker: Nathaniel Greene, was published in 1972
Publication Order of Women of Williamsburg Books
| Dawn's Early Light | (1934) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Yankee Stranger | (1944) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Ever After | (1945) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Light Heart | (1947) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Kissing Kin | (1948) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| This Was Tomorrow | (1951) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Homing | (1957) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
Publication Order of Standalone Novels
Publication Order of Plays
| The Tudor Wench - A Play in Three Acts - Dramatized From an Episode in the Book of the Same Name | (2011) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books
| Young Mr. Disraeli | (1936) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Mount Vernon, the Legacy | (1967) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Virginia Colony | (1969) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Dolley Madison, Her Life and Times | (1970) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Fighting Quaker | (1972) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
If You Like Elswyth Thane Books, You’ll Love…
The first book in the Women of Williamsburg series is Dawn’s Early Light. This is the early part of the series and covers a young man who comes to America with his father from London. His father is going to be teacher, but when he dies on the way over; his son is left to question his purpose. There are multiple loyalties in this time of the Revolutionary War as some are still loyal to the crown while the Declaration of Independence has already been signed. A great start to the series and a book that is equal parts history and romance.
Yankee Stranger is one of Elswyth’s most famous works. This tells the story of Cabot Murray, a Northerner, and Eden Day, a Southerner. Their love is wild and strong, taking hold from first sight. When the Civil War breaks out, they find themselves on opposite sides and the bitterness of war threatened to overpower the love the two had for each other. Can war topple what seems an unstoppable love? Or does love truly conquer all?
I’ve read all of the Williamsburg Series, several times. Her stories are every bit as good the 3rd or 4th time reading as the 1st time reading. I first read them in the 1960’s. In 2 months I will be 75
years young. Elswyth Thane wears well, like a woolen coat.