Helen Hooven Santmyer was an American writer, educator, and librarian. She is primarily known for her best-selling epic ...And Ladies of the Club, published when she was in her 80s. Santmyer was born in 1895 and lived in Xenia, Ohio. In addition to her career as a writer, she worked as an English professor, a dean of women, and a librarian.

She gained significant attention at the age of 87 when her novel And Ladies of the Club was published as a Book of the Month. Her contributions to literature and education were recognized when she was inducted into the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame in 1996.