Elizabeth Spencer, who started writing fiction in the 1940s, has produced a number of distinguished works marked for their range in subject and style. To date she has written seven novels, the first three set in her native Mississippi, the later ones having national and international settings. One published collection of short stories and a forthcoming second collection give evidence of her mastery of short forms, showing both her considerable versatility in approach and her talent for portraying subtle feelings and evoking sharp impressions. Her stories frequently appear in the New Yorker.

Spencer was born in Carrollton, Mississippi, attended public schools, and in 1942 was graduated from Belhaven College, a Presbyterian liberal arts college in Jackson. She attended Vanderbilt University, where she took an M.A. degree in 1943, coming under the tutelage of Donald Davidson. She taught English at Northwest Mississippi Junior College in Senatobia (1943-1944) and at Ward-Belmont...