Mary Nash (July 7, 1924 – September 16, 2020) was a 20th-century American writer.[1] She wrote the Mrs. Coverlet trilogy of children’s books, as well as a book about actress Susannah Maria Cibber.
Nash grew up in Wilmington, Delaware, attended Radcliffe College and earned a master's degree in creative writing from the University of Washington. She married a physician, Harry Nash, and they reared three children in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The children were named Norman, Holly and Tom; Tom, who was called "Toad" as a child, inspired the character in the Coverlet books.
Nash began writing children's books after reading a number of disappointing ones to her own children.[2]
Nash taught creative writing at the Radcliffe Institute.[2]
Nash was "celebrated" for her children's trilogy While Mrs Coverlet Was Away (1958), Mrs. Coverlet's Magicians (1960), and Mrs Coverlet's Detectives.
Nash's book The Provoked Wife: the life and times of Susannah Cibber (1977) was an account of the life of the 18th-century actress Susannah Maria Cibber.[3]