Leftover Ladies: American Writer Ursula Parrott (1900-1957) and the Emergence of the Modern Woman

FAIN: FZ-266866-19

Marsha Gordon
North Carolina State University (Raleigh, NC 27607)

Writing of a book-length narrative on the life and works of the best-selling American author Ursula Parrott (1899-1957).

Leftover Ladies will utilize the forgotten life and writings of Ursula Parrott (1899-1957) as a jumping off point to explore the emergence of the idea of the modern working woman in 20th-century America. Famous during her lifetime, Parrott spent her career depicting divorcees, working women, and single mothers in fiction, nonfiction, interviews, and screenplays, drawing frankly from her own complicated marital life. Part biography, part pop cultural, legal, and economic history, Leftover Ladies is a long overdue, historically relevant, and timely study built around historical records—especially movies and popular magazines—and conveyed in an accessible, readable fashion. In the process of sharing the story of Parrott’s unusual life, the book will explore an understudied part of American cultural history regarding the legal and cultural status of divorce and its social and personal consequences involving women in the workplace during the first part of the 20th century.

Associated Products

Narrating Modern Women’s Experiences: The Complex Legacy of Ursula Parrott (Radio/Audio Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Narrating Modern Women’s Experiences: The Complex Legacy of Ursula Parrott
Abstract: National Humanities Center
Date: 07/01/2020
Primary URL: http://https://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/marsha-gordon-complex-legacy-ursula-parrott/
Primary URL Description: A podcast about Ursula Parrott that I did for the National Humanities Center. This came out during my NEH fellowship, as it relates to my first year of work on the project that I did under the auspices of the NHC.
Access Model: Open access.
Format: Web

Becoming the Ex-Wife: The Unconventional Life and Forgotten Writings of Ursula Parrott (Book)
Title: Becoming the Ex-Wife: The Unconventional Life and Forgotten Writings of Ursula Parrott
Author: Marsha Gordon
Abstract: Credited with popularizing the label "ex-wife" in 1929, Ursula Parrott wrote provocatively about divorcées, career women, single mothers, work-life balance, and a host of new challenges facing modern women. Her best sellers, Hollywood film deals, marriages and divorces, and run-ins with the law made her a household name. Part biography, part cultural history, Becoming the Ex-Wife establishes Parrott's rightful place in twentieth-century American culture, uncovering her neglected work and keen insights into American women's lives during a period of immense social change.
Year: 2023
Primary URL: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520391543/becoming-the-ex-wife
Primary URL Description: University of California Press website.
Publisher: University of California Press
Type: Single author monograph
ISBN: 9780520391543
Copy sent to NEH?: No

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