Author Mitchell Ruth Comfort

Ruth Comfort Mitchell Young (1882–1954) was an American author and playwright who wrote under her maiden name Ruth Comfort Mitchell, as well as her married name, Mrs. Sanborn Young. She was born in San Francisco, California and spent summers in the town of Los Gatos, where her parents and grandparents had summer homes. At the age of fourteen, her first poem was published in the local Los Gatos Mail newspaper, thus launching her literary career, which continued throughout her lifetime. In 1914, literary friends in San Francisco introduced her to Sanborn Young, who had recently sold his grain business and was traveling. The couple were married in October 1914 in the Grand Canyon and moved to New York City, where Ruth continued her literary pursuits, and he studied photography. One of her plays, The Sweetmeat Game (1916) was set in San Francisco's Chinatown and inspired her to design her house, known as the Yung See San Fong House, in a Chinese style. Ruth Comfort Mitchell Young wrote nov