Kate Field

Kate Field was one of very few women in the 19th century who established herself as someone besides a cook, a caretaker, or a mother. She was ambitious not only in the field of journalism but also in other career aspects of her life. After Kate's birth  on October 1, 1838 in St. Louis, Missouri she and her family relocated to New England and later England for her to be educated, and she stayed in England for a long time thereafter to work as a "correspondent of various American newspapers" and magazines.

It is no wonder why Kate Field acquired the title of "celebrity journalist" after being seen hanging out with famous novelists such as Anthony Trollope and being exposed to so many actors and actresses through her fathers work as a playwright and performer. One of the amazing things about Kate is that despite all of this celebrity exposure throughout her life she was still determined to set out on her own path and create a different life for herself. In one case, Kate was so outspoken in her articles that the Boston Courier refused to print them anymore. She had been sending articles from Florence, Italy to Boston, Massachusetts to report on the Italian revolution, but eventually became too invested in the subject matter and "partisan" to Italy's quest for independence.

Another thing that stands out to me about Kate Field is just how career driven she was. Everything she did was for the benefit of her career, whether it was meeting famous writers such as George Eliot and Anthony Trollope, or learning latin from Walter Savage Landor. No matter if she lived in Boston or Italy, she always looked for a story to develop. She even denied proposals and avoided relationships so that she could focus more on her career and her future.

Unfortunately Kate's career came to an end in 1896 when she died of pneumonia. Throughout her fifty-seven year lifetime Kate was an author, a journalist, a drama critic, an employee for Alexander Graham Bell, a columnist, and many other things. Her work and dedication can inspire all of us to put everything we have into our work because, after seeing Kate's outcome, the experience will be rewarding.

Work cited:
Kate Field: The Many Lives of a Nineteenth-Century American Journalist. (Book)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Field (Website)
misssylviadrake.livejournal.com/16710.html (Website)