Rita Mae Brown

Rita Mae Brown (born 28 November 1944) is an American writer, activist, and feminist. She is best known for her first novel Rubyfruit Jungle. Brown is also a mystery writer and screenwriter. 2Biography 3Early life Brown was born in Hanover, Pennsylvania to an unmarried, teenage mother and her mother's married boyfriend. Brown's birth mother left the newborn Brown at an orphanage. Brown's mother's cousin, Julia "Juts" Brown, and her husband Ralph retrieved her from the orphanage, and raised her as their own in York, Pennsylvania, and later in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Julia and Ralph Brown were active Republicans in their local party. 3Education Starting in late 1962, Brown attended the University of Florida at Gainesville on a scholarship. In the spring of 1964, the administrators of the racially segregated university expelled her for participating in the civil rights movemen