The first manuscript for Barbara Newhall Follett's debut novel, The House Without Windows, was destroyed in a house fire before she rewrote the entire story at age eight. Born in 1914 in Hanover, New Hampshire, she became an acclaimed author of two books by age fourteen, marking a swift rise in the American literary scene.
Early Literary Success
Taught at home by her mother, Helen Thomas Follett, Barbara demonstrated early proficiency in writing and poetry. By seven, she had constructed an elaborate imaginary world called Farksolia, complete with a language named Farksoo. In 1923, she composed The House Without Windows, a story about a girl who leaves home to live in nature, as a birthday gift for her mother. With guidance from her father, Wilson Follett, an editor at Knopf, the book reached publication in 1927 to positive reception from critics including H. L. Mencken. In 1928, she published The Voyage of the Norman D., a chronicle of her journey on a lumber schooner from New Haven to Nova Scotia.
Twenty questions, eight minutes on the clock, and a percentile measured against everyone who has taken it. No sign-up.
Take the IQ test →Transition to Adulthood
The stability of Follett's childhood was disrupted when her father left the family in 1928. Financial hardship followed, forcing Follett to work as a secretary in New York City by the age of sixteen. During this period, she wrote several unpublished manuscripts, including Lost Island and Travels Without a Donkey, the latter detailing a walking trip from Maine to the Massachusetts border. She married Nickerson Rogers in July 1934 after several years of extensive travel, including walks along the Appalachian Trail and excursions in Switzerland.
Disappearance and Later Theory
By 1937, marital friction and concerns regarding her husband's fidelity contributed to her depression. On December 7, 1939, at age twenty-five, she left their apartment after a disagreement and disappeared. Her husband delayed reporting the event to authorities for two weeks. In 2019, writer Daniel Mills proposed that a body found in 1948 on Pulsifer Hill in Holderness, New Hampshire, might have been Follett. The site was near a property previously rented by the couple, and nearby belongings were consistent with her own. The cause of death at that location was identified as suicide by barbiturate overdose.
Fast facts
- Born: 1914, Hanover, New Hampshire
- First novel published: 1927
- Disappeared: December 7, 1939
- Age at disappearance: 25
- Spouse: Nickerson Rogers
- Field of work: Literature
- Nationality: United States
Questions readers ask
What was the subject of her first published book?
The House Without Windows follows a young girl named Eepersip who runs away to live in nature.
Did police ever find her remains?
No, her body was never officially located or identified, though a 2019 theory suggests a 1948 discovery in New Hampshire may have been her.
Achievements
- Wrote stories on a typewriter as a small child
- Published 'The House Without Windows' at age 12 (1927)
- Published 'The Voyage of the Norman D.' at 13
- Enduring subject of literary fascination
