Humphreys, Josephine

▪ American author

born Feb. 2, 1945, Charleston, S.C., U.S.

      American novelist noted for her sensitive evocations of family life in the southern United States.

      Humphreys studied creative writing with Reynolds Price (Price, Reynolds) at Duke University (A.B., 1967) and attended Yale University (M.A., 1968) and the University of Texas. From 1970 to 1977, before beginning her writing career, she taught at Baptist College in Charleston. Her first novel, Dreams of Sleep (1983), examines a faltering marriage that is saved by a third party. Her later novels include Rich in Love (1987) and The Fireman's Fair (1991). In 1994 Humphreys coauthored the autobiography of Ruthie Bolton (a pseudonym), a previously unpublished Charleston woman whose adolescent years were marked by abandonment and abuse. The book, Gal: A True Life, is noted for its straightforward narration of her disturbing childhood and early adulthood and the encouragement of Bolton's strength to overcome her past.

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