Jane Garrett, who worked as an editor at the Alfred A. Knopf publishing house, passed away on October 12 at the age of 88. She was known for guiding seven books to win Pulitzer Prizes for history during her 44-year tenure at Knopf. However, one book she edited lost its prestigious Bancroft Prize due to criticism from scholars about the author’s research. Garrett died at her home in Middlebury, Vt. due to Alzheimer’s disease.
Garrett started her career at Knopf as an editor and special assistant to Alfred Knopf himself, who had a passion for publishing history books. She began acquiring books on her own and achieved her first Pulitzer win in 1973 with Michael Kammen’s “People of Paradox: An Inquiry Concerning the History of American Civilization.” She went on to edit several Pulitzer-winning books, including Bernard Bailyn’s “Voyagers to the West: A Passage in the Peopling of America on the Eve of the Revolution” and Robert V. Bruce’s “The Launching of Modern American Science, 1846-1876.”
One of the books Garrett edited, “William Cooper’s Town” by Alan Taylor, won both a Pulitzer Prize and a Bancroft Prize. She had a personal connection to the Cooper family and played a role in organizing their papers. However, another book she edited, “Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture” by Michael Bellesiles, faced controversy and ultimately lost its Bancroft Prize due to errors and misuse of historical records.
Jane Garrett was born on July 16, 1935, in Dover, Del. She studied history at the University of Delaware and later joined Knopf as an editor. She was not well-known in the publishing industry because she worked remotely from her home in Vermont. In addition to her work at Knopf, Garrett pursued a second career in the Episcopal Church and was ordained as a priest in 1981.
Garrett’s contributions to the world of publishing and her dedication to editing Pulitzer-winning books will be remembered.