Elizabeth W Champney

The Romance of the Feudal Chateaux (1899). by Elizabeth W Champney

Elizabeth "Lizzie" Williams Champney (February 6, 1850 - October 13, 1922) was an American writer of numerous articles and novels, most of which featured foreign locations. Her novels were originally directed mainly at young girls, including the "Witch Winnie" series and the "Vassar Girls Abroad" series, but she later wrote romantic semi-fictional fables of castles, such as The Romance of the Feudal Chäteaux (1899). She was the wife of artist James Wells Champney. Champney was born Elizabeth Johnson Williams in Springfield, Ohio, on February 6, 1850. Her parents, who were abolitionists, moved the family to Kansas Territory in her youth, to join the fight against the spread of slavery to Kansas. After the Civil War, she attended the Seminary for Young Ladies in Lexington, Massachusetts, where the artist James Wells Champney was her drawing instructor. She completed her education at Vassar College, where she received her A. B. in 1869, a member of the second class of Vassar graduates.