Gertrude Atherton
Writing
Biography
From Wikipedia Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton (October 30, 1857 – June 14, 1948) was a prominent and prolific American author. Many of her novels are set in her home state, California. Her best-seller Black Oxen (1923) was made into a silent movie of the same name. In addition to novels, she wrote short stories, essays, and articles for magazines and newspapers on such issues as feminism, politics, and war. She was strong-willed, independent-minded, and sometimes controversial.
Known For

A television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock featuring dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents

Jeffrey and Glenda are two lovers about to embark on a three-day cruise to nowhere. Their plan is to be married on board by the ship's captain. As Glenda is packing to leave, she receives a threatening phone call from her obsessed, former lover Leo. Glenda confronts Leo and tells him that it's over. Leo, a high-powered attorney calls a hit man to have Jeffrey eliminated. Glenda knocks Leo over the head before he can give the hit man a name. Leo is dead. Glenda sneaks back into her apartment, goes off on the cruise with Jeffrey and pretends that all is swell. Leo's partner, Stephen Bessemer, suspects Glenda and follows her to the ship. Bessemer stages a mock trial aboard the ship and cleverly draws a confession from Glenda. Jeffrey, also an attorney, represents Glenda when she is arrested upon arriving on shore. A skeptical district attorney, and the fact that Jeffrey horsewhips the star witness (the hit man), combine to get Glenda completely off the hook.
The Woman Accused

Mrs. Balfame is a 1917 Mystery Drama
Mrs. Balfame

Impressed with Margaret Hill's singing ability, Al Levering takes her from the notorious dive in which she is performing and pays for her musical education. Just as she is about to join an opera company, Levering is arrested for embezzlement and Margaret, out of gratitude, promises to marry him when he is released. Later, Margaret meets and falls in love with nobleman John Ordham. Separated during a shipwreck, the two lose track of each other and five years pass, during which time Margaret has become a famous opera star.
Out of the Storm

Orphan Patience Sparhawk grows up poor until she becomes the ward of the wealthy Miss Tremont. Eventually out of gratitude Patience marries Miss Tremont's nephew, Beverly Peale, out of gratitude only to discover he is a drug user, making their marriage unhappy. When Beverly is found dead from a drug overdose Patience is accused of murder, put on trial and sentenced to die in the electric chair but is saved at the eleventh hour.
The Panther Woman

A beautiful young girl has been raised by her bitter mother to hate all men, but her beauty means that men are constantly after her. She rejects them all, leading some to believe that she may be a lesbian. To stop those rumors, she begins a platonic relationship with a young writer, but things don't work out exactly as planned.
The Crystal Cup

A Manhattan playboy falls for a mysterious European woman, whom he notices is an exact double for a famous socialite who disappeared at the turn of the century. At first he thinks it's just a coincidence, as the beautiful young woman he's romancing is much younger than the woman who vanished, who would be in her late 50s or early 60s by now. Soon, however, he begins to believe that maybe it's not such a coincidence after all.
Black Oxen

A woman with a gambling addiction finds that her daughter is threatened by the same tendencies.
The Avalanche

The wife of a prominent San Francisco doctor, feeling neglected by her husband, finds herself attracted to a young newspaper reporter. ...
Don't Neglect Your Wife

Ida is married to small-time Montana prospector Gregory Compton. She's bored and lonely, so a friend, wealthy widow and woman of the world Ora Blake, easily gets her to share a trip to Europe. There, Ida lives the high life amid the continent's rich and carefree, but soon grows weary of it, wishing she were home again with her true love. Back in Butte, Gregory has hit a gold strike and telegraphs Ida of his luck. Ora however, with a secret love for Gregory, sabotages Ida's response by rewriting the return cable to indicate Ida will return, but only for a share in the gold. When the travelers return to Montana, Ida has found out about what backstabbing Ora has done, and fight it out at the mine, but unaware of their presence, the now-disillusioned Gregory intends on blowing up the mine at the same time.