Amy Kelly

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Amy Ruth Kelly (May 5, 1877 – January 1, 1962) was an American educator and historian best known for her book Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings.

She was born in Port Clinton, Ohio, the oldest of three children of Malcolm and Susan Kelly. She earned a bachelor’s degree at Oberlin College and a master’s at Wellesley College, then studied at Harvard Summer School and spent time in France.

Kelly began her career as English department head at Lake Erie College, later teaching at Wellesley as an instructor and then as an associate professor. She also served as headmistress at Bryn Mawr School. In 1928 a Baltimore Sun writer described her as helping to shape the curriculum for Bennington College, advocating that the college fit the student’s goals rather than requiring traditional courses for all. She urged giving students freedom to enjoy their hobbies and crafts, and said entrance should be based on a student’s records and seriousness.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas, a fellow Wellesley alumna, believed that Kelly’s work at Bryn Mawr began her long focus on Eleanor of Aquitaine. Kelly spent summers in Europe and the Middle East studying languages and historical documents.

She retired from Wellesley in 1942 after 24 years there. She continued to work on her manuscript and, in 1950, Harvard University Press published Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings. The book reached No. 10 on the New York Times bestseller list and stayed on the list for 13 weeks. Norman Cousins praised her prose as exceptional.

In her final years she lived in Miami, Florida, with her sister Elizabeth. She died January 1, 1962, at age 84. She was survived by her sister and her ward, Margaret Malcolm.