Queen of Bohemia Predicts Own Death: Gilded-Age Journalist Zoe Anderson Norris

Name: Queen of Bohemia Predicts Own Death: Gilded-Age Journalist Zoe Anderson Norris
Start: 2025-11-09T14:00:00-06:00
Location: 204 S Main St, Wichita, KS, United States, Kansas 67202

Schedule

Sun, 09 Nov, 2025 at 02:00 pm

UTC-06:00

Location

204 S Main St, Wichita, KS, United States, Kansas 67202 | Wichita, KS

Queen of Bohemia Predicts Own Death: Gilded-Age Journalist Zoe Anderson Norris
Come out to the 2nd Floor DeVore Auditorium on Sunday, November 9th to hear Eve M. Kahn present a program on her new book “Queen of Bohemia Predicts Own Death: Gilded-Age Journalist Zoe Anderson Norris“
This program is FREE and open to the public.
Books will be available for purchase and signing during the event or pre-order your book through one of our valued local Business Members: Watermark Books.
About the Book
A Trailblazing Journalist Who Took on New York’s Gilded Age Injustices
Zoe Anderson Norris was a woman ahead of her time. A Kentucky-born belle turned fearless Manhattan journalist, she used her pen as a weapon in the fight for justice. From exposing slumlords and corrupt politicians to advocating for impoverished immigrants, she captured the injustices of her era with a wit and tenacity that still resonate today. In this first biography of Norris, independent scholar Eve Kahn restores her legacy, illuminating her work as a novelist, magazine publisher, and social reformer who challenged the powerful and gave voice to the oppressed.
A prolific writer and editor, Norris chronicled the struggles of Lower East Side immigrants in her self-published periodical The East Side, often going undercover to report on the harsh realities of tenement life. She documented tragedies such as the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, publicly denounced predatory men, and advised women on seizing control of their destinies. With her bohemian spirit, she led the Ragged Edge Klub, a gathering of artists, writers, and social critics who rejected the status quo.
But Norris’s courage came at a personal cost. Her life was marked by tumultuous relationships, family estrangement, and battles against the very injustices she exposed. She endured financial struggles, unfaithful or deadbeat husbands, and social ostracization for her refusal to remain silent. In her final issue of The East Side, she eerily predicted her death, an uncanny premonition that made national headlines before she faded into obscurity.
With meticulous research and captivating storytelling, Kahn brings Norris’s extraordinary life back into the spotlight. Drawing on newly uncovered archival materials, including Norris’s own writings, letters, and investigative reports, “Queen of Bohemia Predicts Own Death” sheds light on a fearless journalist whose influence on investigative reporting and social justice continues to be felt today. This biography is a compelling testament to the power of the written word in the fight for truth and equity.
In 1878, Zoe graduated from Daughters College and married a Missouri native, Spencer William Norris (1856–1904). By 1887, the couple had settled in Wichita, Kansas, with their two children, Robert Grimes Norris (1879–1948) and Mary Clarence Norris, known as Clarence (1881–1967). The family settled on North Market Street. Zoe joined cultural groups for women, including Hypatia, taught art at Lewis Academy and exhibited paintings on canvas and china at venues including the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Spencer ran a store specializing in fruit and ice cream at 104 North Main Street. By the late 1890s, Zoe had discovered Spencer’s infidelities (the couple divorced in 1898) and started writing fiction and journalism for magazines as well as a gossip column for The Wichita Eagle (under the pseudonym Nancy Yanks). She traveled to the Rockies and hiked along Pikes Peak wearing thin slippers.
About the Author
Independent scholar Eve M. Kahn, former Antiques Columnist at The New York Times, writes about art, architecture, and design for the Times among other publications. She is a biographer of artist Mary Rogers Williams (1857-1907) and writer Zoe Anderson Norris (1860-1914).
204 S Main St; Wichita, KS 67203
Doors open at 1pm
Program Starts at 2pm
Open to the Public
Free Admission