Marion F CrawfordF. Marion Crawford was an American author who lived from August 2, 1854, to April 9, 1909, and is remembered for his numerous books, particularly those set in Italy, as well as his well-known odd and fantastic tales. On August 2, 1854, Crawford was brn in Bagni di Lucca, Grand Duchy of Tuscany. He was the lone child of Louisa Cutler Ward and American sculptor Thomas Crawford. He was the nephew of the American poet Julia Ward Howe, and his sister was the author Mary Crawford Fraser (also known as Mrs. Hugh Fraser). After his father passed away in 1857, Crawford's mother remarried Luther Terry, with whom she had Margaret Ward Terry, Crawford's half-sister who later married Winthrop Astor Chanler. He spent the majority of this time in Boston, mostly with his uncle Sam Ward and at the home of his aunt Julia Ward Howe. His future financial prospects worried his family. Based on his private performances of Schubert lieder, his mother had hoped he could enroll in Boston's operatic baritone training program and pursue a career in opera. Read More Read Less