She very early felt the necessity of earning her own living, and after a time that of two others. With her strong imaginative nature rebelling against the uncongenial task, she taught school till her health broke down under the strain. Then she began to send poems and stories to the press. They were extensively copied, but paid for poorly. Her first regular journalistic work was art criticism, and her articles attracted so much notice as to make for her a reputation. She then became a regular contributor to the
Art Amateur. Compiling books, writing plays, magazine articles, dramatic criticisms, and, in short, all-around newspaper work, thereafter were her work. Her magazine article which attracted the most attention was "The Domestic Purse-Strings," in the
Forum, September, 1890. It was copied and commented on in column editorials, from
London and New York to
San Francisco. Ives, the playwright, is best known by
The Village Postmaster and
The Brooklyn Handicap. The latter was performed in 1894. Its theme is a sensational
Brooklyn horse race. Ives stated:—"In order to write the play, I lived on the race-track for a couple of months, and I read all the sporting papers I could."
The Village Postmaster, 1896, describes a rural spot in
New Hampshire, with rustic types. A country atmosphere pervades the play. Her first play,
Don Roderic, was praised by
Lawrence Barrett;
Reward, a society drama, was presented in Detroit.
Lorine, a Russian story, was played by
Frederick Paulding in 1894; its production in
Palmer's Theater, New York, was successful.
Lavarre and
A Flower of the Hills, are also her works.
Old Miss Pod was written for
Neil Burgess; and
The Checkered Hat, was a one-act
vaudeville play. Ives was a member of the "Twelfth Night" and other New York clubs. She died in 1930. ==Selected works==