Lizzie Petit Cutler

Lizzie Petit Cutler (1831 – January 16, 1902) was an influential author of Southern United States literature in the nineteenth century who was originally from Albemarle County.

Biography

Early life

Cutler was born at the port of Milton in 1831. Her ancestry on the paternal side consisted primarily of local farmers, while on the maternal side she was a descendant of Monsieur Jean Jacques Marie René de Motteville Bernard, an early emigré to the Thirteen Colonies who had been driven from his come country of France for political reasons and eventually settled in Virginia, living on his wife's estates along the James River. In her early childhood, Cutler was left motherless and was thus primarily raised by her grandmother and aunt on a farm near Charlottesville.

As a child, Cutler frequently scribbled rhymes and wrote short stories for her own and her cousin's amusement. She moved to Charlottesville at age 13, where she immediately began to mingle in the society of the city under the chaperonage of her aunt. Cutler attended classes at a seminary in Charlottesville until age 14, after which her formal education was irregular in nature. It was reported that around this time, she fell in love with a peer of hers; however, the two became estranged for unknown reasons and the young man soon after moved to Alabama, with Cutler dealing with her disappointment by channeling her energy into literary matters.

Literary career

Cutler's first novel, Light and Darkness (New York, 1855), was brought out by the Messrs. Appleton, and was republished in London, later being translated into French. This work was followed by Household Mysteries, a Romance of Southern Life (1856), reportedly completed at the suggestion of Mr. Appleton and having been written in the vortex of New York society.

After about eighteen months, Cutler began work on another book. However, having been advised by her friends not to associate with the Appletons again, she instead proffered her manuscript to the Harpers, who rejected her work. She then turned back to the Appletons, who also declined to work with her. Her means becoming limited due to a lack of business partners, Cutler began to give a series of dramatic readings, which were so successful that she was thinking of going upon the stage, encouraged by the applause. While preparing herself for a "star engagement” proffered her, she nearly lost her life when her gown was accidentally caught on fire. She was reportedly saved by her friend Mr. Oakley. The injuries Cutler suffered during this incident caused her to spend several months recovering on her couch; but she was gradually restored to health via the care of her friends. One among these individuals, a prominent New York lawyer by the name of Peter Y. Cutler (d. December of 1869), so endeared himself by his attentions that upon her recovery, she married him around 1858 and subsequently moved into his residence near New York City.

Cutler's novel The Stars of the Crowd, or Men and Women of the Day was published in 1858. In 1860, she gave a series of public readings. Throughout the course of the Civil War, despite residing with her husband in the Northern United States, Cutler's sympathies were said to have lay with the people of her home state of Virginia. In 1877, according to a Cincinnati newspaper, Cutler and the singer, Agnes Storrs Vedder, delivered a series of receptions devoted to music and dramatic recitations.

Death and burial

Cutler died on January 16, 1902. She was buried at Riverview Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia.