Fairly uneducated, Pearl Curran, a St. Louis housewife, channeled a 17th-century spirit and achieved literary renown. The spirit, Patience Worth, a New England Pilgrim, became the subject of several Curran books, and a national sensation in the early years of the 20th century.

Curran was a prolific writer: In addition to seven books, she produced volumes of poems, as well as short stories, and plays.

But the fame of Pearl and Patience would fade by the 1920s. Authors like Hemingway and James Joyce were the new literary loves, and the flapper was all the rage. Patience soon seemed like a relic of our nation’s passing fascination with mysticism.

This post was contributed by Ross Malone. A historian and a retired school teacher, Ross has authored many books about Missouri’s history, weird facts, and folk tales. He has also written children’s historical fiction. Visit his website, and buy his books in the Missouri Life store.

Photo credit: Amy Gillard, Pixabay