Mary Platt Parmele

Mary Platt Parmele (July 14, 1843 - May 26, 1911) was an American historian and writer. Biography Parmele was born in Albany, New York and educated in New York. She was the daughter of Zephaniah Platt, the Michigan Attorney General, and the granddaughter of U.S. Representative Jonas Platt. Her first marriage was to J. J. Agnew and her second marriage to Theodore W. Parmele. From 1892 she began contributing philosophical articles and short stories to reviews and magazines. Her most successful books were a number of "Short History" books of various countries written in the late 19th and early 20th century. Her "Short History of ..." books included France, Russia, England, United States, Germany, Spain, and Italy. Her style is a flowing narrative that ties together the various historical events of a country in easy to read, comprehensive text, tempered as it were by prevailing social views.