The Girl Who Published Her First Novel At 12, And Then Disappeared At 25

Barbara Newhall Follett saw her first book – about a wild little girl who longs to be free from structures of brick and glass – published when she was 12. By the time she was 25, “Barbara began to feel her dreams slipping away to the familiar tune of work and domesticity. She still wrote, but her work was no longer in favour with publishers and the rejections hurt. And then, in 1939, on 7 December, Barbara Rogers, née Newhall Follett, walked out of the apartment she shared with her husband. She left no note, took only a few dollars and some shorthand notes. She was never seen again.” – The Guardian (UK)