Gould, Lois (1932–2002)

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Gould, Lois (1932–2002)

American novelist, essayist and critic. Name variations: Lois Benjamin. Born Lois Regensburg, 1932, in New York, NY; died May 29, 2002, in New York, NY; dau. of Edward S. Regensburg (cigar manufacturer) and fashion designer Jo Copeland; Wellesley College, BA; m. Philip Benjamin (novelist and journalist), 1955 (died 1966); m. Robert E. Gould (psychiatrist), 1967 (died 1998); children: (1st m.) sons, Roger V. Gould (died April 29, 2002) and Anthony Gould.

Bestselling novelist, worked as journalist and university professor at Wesleyan, Northwestern, and New York Universities; wrote a regular column for the New York Times; best known for her 1st novel, the partly autobiographical Such Good Friends (1970); also wrote Necessary Objects (1972), Final Analysis (1974), A Sea-Change (1976), and Medusa's Gift (1991), as well as two books on motherhood The Case Against Natural Childbirth (with Waldo L. Fielding, 1962) and So You Want to be a Working Mother! (1966), a children's story X: A Fabulous Child's Story (1978), and a collection of essays Not Responsible for Personal Articles (1978).

See also memoir Mommy Dressing: A Love Story, After a Fashion (1998).