The Enigma of Barbara Newhall Follett: A Vanishing Act of Literary Proportions
Ah, the tale of Barbara Newhall Follett—a child prodigy who wrote with the flair of a seasoned author but vanished with the stealth of a magician. If only she had left behind a few more breadcrumbs instead of a trail of unanswered questions! Born in 1914, Barbara was the literary darling of her time, crafting stories as early as six, proving that genius does indeed come in pint-sized packages. Her debut novel, *The House Without Windows*, published at age 12, was hailed as the creation of an “unbridled genius.” With accolades from the venerable *New York Times*, one might think this brilliant soul would bask in the glow of literary success. But alas, life threw her a curveball that not even the most imaginative of her stories could have predicted.
Now, if you thought that transitioning from childhood fame to adult obscurity was mere fiction, hold onto your hats; Barbara’s life took a nosedive when her father left the family for a younger woman. What a charming twist! This betrayal sent Barbara and her mother on a nomadic journey, reminiscent of the great American road trips but with far less Instagram flair. By 15, she was already running away from “oppressive” family ties, living incognito, and dropping breadcrumbs of literary genius along the way.
Yet, the Great Depression turned the publishing world into a barren wasteland for emerging writers. Despite her rich imagination, Barbara found herself increasingly isolated and lost in the wilds of her thoughts, even as she sought solace in nature alongside her adventurous husband, Nickerson Rogers. Their hiking escapades sound like a picturesque postcard, but even the most idyllic settings cannot shield one from personal demons.
Then came that fateful night in December 1939, when Barbara walked out of her apartment and seemingly evaporated into thin air. Nick, her husband, reported her missing two weeks later, almost as if he were still in denial about her propensity for escape. The public response to her disappearance? A collective shrug, mixed with a sprinkle of intrigue. Her father’s heartfelt plea in *The Atlantic* a year later was met with silence—no body, no letters, no clues.
Now, let’s unpack the theories, shall we? Did she embrace the wilderness, becoming a modern-day hermit? Did she morph into a ghost residing in the annals of literary legend? Depending on who you ask, the answers vary wildly. And while Barbara’s half-nephew, Stefan Cooke, quipped that if she wanted to vanish, she could teach Houdini a thing or two, one must wonder: was it truly a disappearance or an elaborate escape from a world that failed to understand her?
In a landscape where creativity often battles with societal expectations, Barbara Newhall Follett remains a haunting reminder that brilliance does not always come with clarity, and sometimes, the most profound mysteries are those that remain unsolved. As we ponder her fate, let us raise a glass to all the prodigies who slipped through the cracks, reminding us that life is a complex narrative—sometimes filled with characters who prefer to remain enigmas.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and People Magazine, The Atlantic
Image Credit: Title: Untitled, Author: No author info, License: [‘cc_attribute’, ‘cc_nonderived’, ‘cc_publicdomain’]
