HARRISON, Elizabeth (Allen) Cavanna 1909-2001 (Betty Cavanna, Elizabeth Cavanna, Elizabeth Allen Cavanna, Elizabeth Headley, Betsy Allen)

PERSONAL: Born June 24, 1909, in Camden, NJ; died August 13, 2001, in Vezelay, France; daughter of Walter and Emily (Allen) Cavanna; married Edward Headley, August 5, 1940 (died, 1952); married George Russell Harrison (a university dean of science), March 9, 1957 (died, July 27, 1979); children: (first marriage) Stephen. Education: Douglass College (now part of Rutgers, The State University—New Brunswick Campus), A.B., 1929. Religion: Protestant. Hobbies and other interests: Art, antiques.

CAREER: Bayonne Times, Bayonne, NJ, reporter, 1929-31; Westminster Press, Philadelphia, PA, began as advertising manager, became art director, 1931-41; full-time writer, beginning 1941.

MEMBER: Writers Guild, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Philadelphia Art Alliance, Technology Matrons (program chair, 1961-62), Phi Beta Kappa, Women's Travel Club of Boston (second vice president, 1972-73), Cosmopolitan Club (New York, NY).

AWARDS, HONORS: Spring Book Festival's honor book, 1946, for Going on Sixteen, and 1947, for Secret Passage; New Jersey Institute of Technology citation, and English Teachers Association of New Jersey citation, 1966, both for Mystery at Love's Creek; Edgar Allan Poe Award runner-up, 1970, for Spice Island Mystery, and 1972, for The Ghost of Ballyhooly; New Jersey Institute of Technology citation, 1976, for Catchpenny Street.

WRITINGS:

UNDER NAME BETTY CAVANNA

Puppy Stakes, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1943.

The Black Spaniel Mystery, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1945.

Secret Passage, John C. Winston (Philadelphia, PA), 1946.

Going on Sixteen, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1946, revised edition, Morrow (New York, NY), 1985.

Spurs for Suzanna, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1947.

A Girl Can Dream, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1948.

Paintbox Summer, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1949.

Spring Comes Riding, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1950.

Two's Company, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1951.

(Compiler) Pick of the Litter: Favorite Dog Stories, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1952.

Lasso Your Heart, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1952.

Love, Laurie, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1953.

Six on Easy Street, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1954.

The First Book of Seashells, F. Watts (New York, NY), 1955.

Passport to Romance, Morrow (New York, NY), 1955.

The Boy Next Door, Morrow (New York, NY), 1956.

Angel on Skis, Morrow (New York, NY), 1957.

Stars in Her Eyes, Morrow (New York, NY), 1958.

The Scarlet Sail, Morrow (New York, NY), 1959.

Accent on April, Morrow (New York, NY), 1960.

A Touch of Magic, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1961.

Fancy Free, Morrow (New York, NY), 1961.

The First Book of Wildflowers, F. Watts (New York, NY), 1961.

A Time for Tenderness, Morrow (New York, NY), 1962.

Almost Like Sisters, Morrow (New York, NY), 1963.

Jenny Kimura, Morrow (New York, NY), 1964.

Mystery at Love's Creek, Morrow (New York, NY), 1965.

A Breath of Fresh Air, Morrow (New York, NY), 1966.

The First Book of Wool, photographs by husband George Russell Harrison, F. Watts (New York, NY), 1966, published in England as Wool, F. Watts (London, England), 1972.

The Country Cousin, Morrow (New York, NY), 1967.

Mystery in Marrakech, Morrow (New York, NY), 1968.

Spice Island Mystery, Morrow (New York, NY), 1969.

The First Book of Fiji, photographs by George Russell Harrison, F. Watts (New York, NY), 1969, published in England as Fiji, F. Watts (London, England), 1972.

The First Book of Morocco, photographs by George Russell Harrison, F. Watts (New York, NY), 1970.

Mystery on Safari, Morrow (New York, NY), 1971.

The Ghost of Ballyhooly, Morrow (New York, NY), 1971.

Mystery in the Museum, Morrow (New York, NY), 1972.

Petey, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1973.

Joyride, Morrow (New York, NY), 1974.

Ruffles and Drums, Morrow (New York, NY), 1975.

Mystery of the Emerald Buddha, Morrow (New York, NY), 1976.

Runaway Voyage, Morrow (New York, NY), 1978.

Stamp Twice for Murder, Morrow (New York, NY), 1981.

The Surfer and the City Girl, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1981.

Storm in Her Heart, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1983.

Romance on Trial, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1984.

Wanted: A Girl for the Horses, Morrow (New York, NY), 1984.

Banner Year, Morrow (New York, NY), 1987.

UNDER NAME ELIZABETH HEADLEY

A Date for Diane (also see below), Macrae Smith (Philadelphia, PA), 1946.

Take a Call, Topsy!, Macrae Smith (Philadelphia, PA), 1947, reprinted under name Betty Cavanna as Ballet Fever, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1978.

She's My Girl!, Macrae Smith (Philadelphia, PA), 1949, reprinted under name Betty Cavanna as You Can't Take Twenty Dogs on a Date, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1979.

Catchpenny Street, Macrae Smith (Philadelphia, PA), 1951, reprinted under name Betty Cavanna, Westminster (Philadelphia, PA), 1975.

Diane's New Love (also see below), Macrae Smith (Philadelphia, PA), 1955.

Toujours Diane (also see below), Macrae Smith (Philadelphia, PA), 1957.

The Diane Stories: All about America's Favorite Girl Next Door (contains A Date for Diane, Diane's New Love, and Toujours Diane), Macrae Smith (Philadelphia, PA), 1964.

"AROUND THE WORLD TODAY" SERIES; UNDER NAME BETTY CAVANNA

Arne of Norway, photographs by George Russell Harrison, F. Watts (New York, NY), 1960.

Lucho of Peru, photographs by George Russell Harrison, F. Watts (New York, NY), 1961.

Paulo of Brazil, photographs George Russell Harrison, F. Watts (New York, NY), 1962.

Pepe of Argentina, photographs by George Russell Harrison, F. Watts (New York, NY), 1962.

Lo Chau of Hong Kong, photographs by George Russell Harrison, F. Watts (New York, NY), 1963.

Chico of Guatemala, photographs by George Russell Harrison, F. Watts (New York, NY), 1963.

Noko of Japan, photographs by George Russell Harrison, F. Watts (New York, NY), 1964.

Carlos of Mexico, photographs by George Russell Harrison, F. Watts (New York, NY), 1964.

Tavi of the South Seas, photographs by George Russell Harrison, F. Watts (New York, NY), 1965.

Doug of Australia, photographs by George Russell Harrison, F. Watts (New York, NY), 1965.

Ali of Egypt, photographs by George Russell Harrison, F. Watts (New York, NY), 1966.

Demetrios of Greece, photographs by George Russell Harrison, F. Watts (New York, NY), 1966.

"CONNIE BLAIR MYSTERY" SERIES; UNDER PSEUDONYM BETSY ALLEN

Puzzle in Purple, Grosset (New York, NY), 1948.

The Secret of Black Cat Gulch, Grosset (New York, NY), 1948.

The Riddle in Red, Grosset (New York, NY), 1948.

The Clue in Blue, Grosset (New York, NY), 1948.

The Green Island Mystery, Grosset (New York, NY), 1949.

The Ghost Wore White, Grosset (New York, NY), 1950.

The Yellow Warning, Grosset (New York, NY), 1951.

The Gray Menace, Grosset (New York, NY), 1953.

The Brown Satchel Mystery, Grosset (New York, NY), 1954.

Peril in Pink, Grosset (New York, NY), 1955.

The Silver Secret, Grosset (New York, NY), 1956.

The Mystery of the Ruby Queen, Grosset (New York, NY), 1958.

Contributor of serials to American Girl and other magazines. Some writings appear under the names Elizabeth Cavanna and Elizabeth Allen Cavanna.

A collection of Harrison's manuscripts are held at the University of Southern Mississippi, in the de Grummond Collection.

SIDELIGHTS: Books by Elizabeth Cavanna Harrison (best known as Betty Cavanna) often concern junior high school girls. Cavanna explained this, as she once recalled, as the result of "an almost total emotional recall for this particular period of my own life, which made it possible for me to identify with a teenage heroine. Fashions in clothes and speech change, but the hopes, dreams, and fears of the young remain fairly constant, and over the years I have explored all sorts of youthful problems—among them loneliness, shyness, jealousy, social maladjustment, and the destructiveness of alcoholism, divorce, race prejudice, and mother-daughter rivalry within family situations." Her books are known for their popularity with younger high school readers.

Dwight L. Burton of English Journal used Going on Sixteen to describe why Cavanna's books have appeal. The novel, Burton explained, "rests upon its genuineness and sincerity rather than upon melodrama. Julie, the heroine, is a somewhat shy, nondescript girl who lives on a farm with her father." Burton noted that as the story follows Julie's progress through three years of high school, Cavanna "avoids the easy assumptions present in many books with a similar theme.... There is realistic evolution of character brought about by Julie's own efforts and recognition of her faults and by the sympathetic guidance of a teacher." In 1985, Morrow published a revised edition of Going on Sixteen as a "Morrow Junior Classic."

In addition to novels for adolescent girls, Cavanna also has written several series. Under the "Betsy Allen" pseudonym, she wrote a mystery series, which includes The Clue in Blue, The Riddle in Red, The Secret of Black Cat Gulch, The Green Island Mystery, and The Ghost Wore White. Her husband provided the photography for her "Around the World" series, in which each book tells the story of a young person from a different part of the world. Books in this series include Arne of Norway, Pepe of Argentina, Ali of Egypt, and Demetrios of Greece. Cavanna also has written a number of nonfiction titles such as The First Book of Seashells, The First Book of Wildflowers, The First Book of Fiji, and The First Book of Morocco.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Contemporary Literary Criticism, Volume 12, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1980.

Something about the Author Autobiography Series, Volume 4, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1987.

St. James Guide to Young Adult Writers, 2nd edition, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1999.

Thomison, Dennis, editor, Readings about Adolescent Literature, Scarecrow (Metuchen, NY), 1970.

PERIODICALS

Atlantic, December, 1946.

Book Week, November 29, 1964.

Christian Science Monitor, November 4, 1965.

English Journal, September, 1951, Dwight L. Burton, review of Going on Sixteen.

New York Herald Tribune Book Review, June 10, 1945; May 5, 1946; April 11, 1948; June 17, 1951.

New York Times Book Review, January 5, 1947; July 20, 1947; May 15, 1949; November 15, 1953; December 15, 1957.

Saturday Review, August 13, 1949.

OBITUARIES:

PERIODICALS

Chicago Tribune, August 14, 2001, section 2, p. 9.

Los Angeles Times, August 15, 2001, p. B10.

New York Times, August 15, 2001, p. A25.

Washington Post, August 14, 2001, p. B5.*