Frances Parkinson Wheeler, who is better known as Frances Parkinson Keyes, was born in 1885 in Charlottesville, Virginia. Her father, John Wheeler, was a professor and chair of the Greek Department at the University of Virginia. After her father's death, Keyes' mother remarried and moved the family to New England. Keyes spent her childhood split between Newbury and Massachusetts, attending private schools in Genève, Switzerland, Boston, and Berlin, Germany. Her extensive travels during her school years exposed her to a wide range of experiences and cultures, which would later influence her writing.
At the age of eighteen, Keyes married Henry Keyes, and the couple moved to Pine Grove farm, which was Henry's family estate. Together, they had three sons. Keyes' life as the wife of a U.S. Senator provided her with a unique perspective and insight into politics and society, which she would later incorporate into her writing.
Frances Parkinson Keyes was an American author, best known for her novels set in New England, Louisiana, and Europe. Her writing was influenced by her extensive travels and her experiences as the wife of a U.S. Senator. Keyes was also a convert to Roman Catholicism, and her later works often featured Catholic themes and beliefs. It is worth noting that her last name is pronounced to rhyme with "skies," not "keys."