Doris Grumbach

Grumbach was born in New York City to Leonard William and Helen (Oppenheimer) Isaac. She grew up in Manhattan and attended elementary school. A very bright student, she skipped many grades and entered high school at age eleven. She was not prepared socially for this early advancement and did poorly, developing a stammer and losing her self-confidence. She was encouraged by her teachers to take a year off from high school, and when she returned, she was an indifferent student in the classroom but showed talent in theater and in creative writing. In her senior year, she won a citywide short story contest, which helped secure her admission to Washington Square College of New York University. She majored in philosophy and graduated Phi Beta Kappa, receiving her B.A. degree in 1939. She earned her M.A. degree in medieval literature in 1940 from Cornell University.