[bksvol-discuss] On Betsy Allen/Betty Cavanna

More reason to have interest in adding books penned under Betsy Allen, 
 
Betty Cavanna 
Was born Elizabeth Allen Cavanna June 24, 1909 in Camden, N.J., but was raised 
in Haddonfield, N.J. As a child she suffered from infantile paralysis. She 
overcame her illness with treatment and exercise. While recuperating, she 
discovered reading which in turn propelled her into her writing career. 

Ms. Cavanna graduated from the New Jersey College for Women where she majored 
in journalism. Like her heiroine, Connie Blair, she also took art classes in 
New York and Philadelphia. Her first reporting job was for the Bayonne Times 
from 1929 to 1931. She joined the staff of the Westminster Press in 
Philadelphia in 1931, and over the next ten years worked as advertising manager 
and art director. Ms. Cavanna married Edward Headley in 1940, they had one son 
together and moved to the suburbs; both commuted to Philadelphia for their 
work. They remained married until her husband's death in 1952. 

In 1941 she became a full-time writer after spending her nights writing short 
stories. Her first published book was Puppy Stakes, Westminster, 1943. Since 
that date, she has written more than eighty books. Some of them were written 
under the name Betty Cavanna as well as two pseudonyms: Betsy Allen and 
Elizabeth Headly. She wrote the "Connie Blair Mystery" series under the name 
Betsy Allen. Under the name Elizabeth Headly, she wrote several books, 
including the Diane stories. Ms. Cavanna also wrote a nonfiction series under 
the name Betty Cavanna called "Around the World Today" about young people 
living in various countries. 

The settings of several of her fiction and nonfiction books are exotic locales. 
These foriegn environments reflect her her travels to the Caribbean, Mexico, 
Europe, South America, Australia, Japan, the South Seas, the Middle and Far 
East, eastern Africa, and other areas. In 1957 she married George Russell 
Harrison, who accompanied her on many of her travels. Mr. Harrison also worked 
as a writer, he co-wrote a nonfiction book with Ms. Cavanna, and took 
photographs for his wife's "Around the World Today" series before his passing 
in 1979. At the age of 92, Ms. Cavanna died August 13, 2001 at her home in 
Vezelay, France. Only eleven of the twelve "Connie Blair" books were written by 
Betty Cavanna. The twelfth book was written by a ghost writer and published 
under the name Betsy Allen. 
 Valerie 





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