Maurine Whipple

Women of Letters » Literature

Teacher, lecturer, and author of The Giant Joshua (1941), a vivid portrayal of pioneer and polygamous life and widely considered one of the most important Mormon works of fiction. Born in St. George, Utah –- the setting for The Giant Joshua -– Whipple won the Houghton Mifflin Literary Prize in 1938 to help her finish the book. Whipple later wrote This is the Place: Utah and published articles in Collier’s, The Saturday Evening Post, Look, Life, Time, Pageant, and numerous other periodicals. Whipple also taught high school at various locations in Utah and Idaho.