Alice Hegan Rice
1870–1942 (age 72)
author
Biography
Alice Hegan Rice captured the imagination of readers with novels such as Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch, a compassionate tale of a resilient family in Louisville's working-class neighborhoods. Her stories blended humor with social conscience, inviting urban and rural audiences alike to care about the lives of struggling children.
Outside of writing, she supported settlement work, educational programs, and improvements in public health, using her prominence to shine a light on those who labored in the city's shadow, and she remained a devoted advocate for literary and civic life until her death in 1942.