Susan Wallace - Biography

Biography

Susan Wallace was born in Crawfordsville, Indiana, to wealthy and influential parents, Isaac Compton and Maria Eveline (Akin) Elston on December 25, 1830. She was educated in Crawfordsville and Poughkeepsie, New York. Susan was the fourth child of Isaac and Maria; she had eight siblings, three brothers and five sisters.

She married Lew Wallace on May 6, 1852. They had one son, Henry Lane Wallace, born February 17, 1853. At the time of their engagement, Wallace was a struggling attorney, and Susan's father was not particularly certain that he would ever be successful. Ironically, Wallace became one of the most celebrated American authors of the 19th century following the publication of Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ in 1880. Susan Wallace, however, was published long before her husband with her very popular poem "The Patter of Little Feet". She was published in over thirty magazines, newspapers, journals, and books of poetry in her life.

Additionally, Susan was a talented writer and musician, although she preferred to remain largely in the shadows as her husband's companion. In truth, and Wallace frequently acknowledged this, Susan was his editor, reader, and critic. He attributed much of his success in writing to her criticism.

Wallace was writing his Autobiography when he died in 1905. Susan, with assistance from Mary Hannah Krout, completed the Autobiography in 1906. She wrote, "And here the Autobiography ends. What follows must be a plain record of facts without attempt at polish or effect."