On July 1,1882, Susan Glaspell was born in Davenport, Iowa. She excelled in academics as a student, studying Latin and journalism. After graduation from high school, she worked as a newspaper reporter for the Davenport Morning Republican, then as the society editor for the Weekly Outlook. From 1897-1899 she attended Drake University and received a Ph.D. in Philosophy.

Immediately after college she resumed her career as a journalist, writing for the Des Moines News. In 1900 she was assigned to cover the trial of Margaret Hossack, an Iowa farmer's wife accused of murdering her husband while he slept. The trial would later become the basis for Glaspell's short story "A Jury of Her Peers" and one-act play Trifles.

Glaspell traveled the world from 1901-1915, working as a freelance author. She spent time in Chicago, New York, Colorado, and Paris, while contributing articles to the Chicago Daily Review...