Professor Mary Ellen Chase (1887-1973) was a teacher, scholar, and writer. She received her Ph. D. in English from the University of Minnesota where she served as an assistant professor from 1922 to 1926. She taught at Smith College starting in 1926 until her retirement in 1955. She wrote more than 30 books, many using her cherished Maine heritage as the setting, capturing the unique spirit and chronicling a way of life for generations. Her most famous of these works include: Mary Peters (1934), Silas Crockett (1935), Windswept (1941), and The Edge of Darkness (1957). Chase was one of the most important regional literary figures of the early twentieth century. She stood as one of the leading writers of her era. Her other works include: His Birthday (1915), The Girl From the Big Horn Country (1916), Virginia of Elk Creek Valley (1917), The Art of Narration (with Frances K. Del plaine) (1926), Mary Christmas (1926), Uplands (1927), Thomas Hardy From Serial to Novel (1927) and The Golden Asse and Other Essays (1929).