Mary Lee Settle (1918 - 2005)

The New York Times reported today that "Mary Lee Settle, a master of historical fiction who recreated time and place with visceral, almost fanatical accuracy, died Tuesday at a hospice in Charlottesville, Va. She was 87." Settle was a National Book Award winner and the author of the novels known as The Beulah Quintet. Because of her natural good looks, "she is also said to have been given a screen test, along with half of Hollywood, for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind." Along with numerous books, Settle was the author of Charly Bland, a 1987 novels which references Louise Brooks. " . . . a cloche hat. Nobody was looking at the camera except Dearie, without a hat, her sleek black hair cut like Louise Brooks's, staring startled at what must . . . ."