Putnam, Ruth

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PUTNAM, Ruth

Born 18 July 1856, Yonkers, New York; died 12 February 1931, Geneva, Switzerland

Daughter of George P. and Victorine Haven Putnam

Ruth Putnam spent her youth in an exceptionally stimulating environment. Her father founded the publishing firm which bears his name; her brother George succeeded as head of the company; and her sister Mary Putnam Jacobi, about whom Putnam wrote in Life and Letters of Mary Putnam Jacobi (1925), was a pioneer in women's medical education. Putnam's interest in language and literature became evident during her undergraduate years at Cornell University, from which she graduated in 1878. She also studied in Paris, Oxford, Leiden, Geneva, and London. Besides her writing, Putnam was actively involved in the woman suffrage movement.

Putnam's first publication, The Pearl Series (1886), was a six-volume poetry anthology. In 1887 Putnam collaborated with Alfred Church on a historical novel entitled The Count of the Saxon Shore. Her first work indicating an interest in Dutch history is William the Silent, Prince of Orange: The Moderate Man of the Sixteenth Century (2 vols., 1895). Putnam attempts an unbiased biography, using an impressive number of primary sources, principally letters and documents signed by the Prince of Orange, which she describes as "authentic phrases of the subject-matter, though they may not be the whole truth." As with a number of her historical works, Putnam consulted French, English, Dutch, and German sources, traveling widely throughout Europe and the U.S. to obtain as complete and accurate a picture of the protagonist as possible.

In 1897 Putnam coedited the two-volume Historic New York During Two Centuries. The work, dealing with the days of New Amsterdam and early New York, contains Putnam's own contribution on Annetje Jans' Farm, which she traces until 1897.

Her next work dealing with the history of the Netherlands was A Mediaeval Princess: Jacqueline, Countess of Holland (1401-1436) (1904). Putnam details Philip the Good's incursion into Holland, which until that time (1904) had received little attention among English historians. Jacqueline was a contemporary of Jeanne d'Arc, who fought against and was finally conquered by the same men with whom Jacqueline maintained her futile struggle.

Putnam's second contribution to the Heroes of the Nations series was Charles the Bold: Last Duke of Burgundy (1433-1477) (1908). This biography is principally based on the materials of John Foster Kirk. As with all her historical works, Putnam's wonderfully clear, readable prose makes these figures from remote history come alive.

With the eruption of World War I, Putnam published a short work, Alsace and Lorraine from Caesar to Kaiser (1915), followed in 1918 by a much longer volume entitled Luxemburg and Her Neighbors, in which she gives a precise history of Luxemburg from the 10th century to the 20th century. Both works deal with areas brought to the public attention because of the events of the war. In the meantime, Putnam collaborated with H. I. Priestley on a lengthy monograph, "California: The Name." Putnam's extraordinary versatility is evident in the extensive use of Spanish historical and literary sources. She traces the name California to a 15th-century Spanish romance.

Putnam's most monumental historical work was the translation and adaptation of Petrus Blok's volumes, The History of the Nederland People (5 vols., 1898-1912). Putnam condensed a great deal of political detail in the Dutch original in order to emphasize the cultural aspects of Dutch history.

Putnam's contribution to interest in the history of the Netherlands in the U.S. was substantial. Her personalization of important, though perhaps little-known, historical figures made her subject popular. Although her status as daughter of George Putnam no doubt helped her, the research skills and great versatility evident throughout her work warrant Putnam a position among respected historical writers.