Betty MacDonald's 100th anniversary ("Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle" series)
leno...@yahoo.com
http://bettymacdonald.net/
"Friends of Betty MacDonald: A Fan Club and literary Society"
(this is BIG - and it includes events scheduled for her anniversary.)
http://archive.seattlepressonline.com/article-9455.html
(2002 article with lots of comments afterwards)
Born in Boulder, Colorado, she moved to Washington State in 1918,
married a poultry farmer at 19 and wrote about the unglamorous
realities of farming in "The Egg and I," (1945) which became a big
bestseller and was filmed in 1947, starring Claudette Colbert. The
book and movie also spawned the "Ma & Pa Kettle" movie series.
Here's an example of how well the book was known, from this 1950
Warner Bros. clip:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1tu25_an-egg-scramble_family
(The scene happens just after Porky Pig has scolded Prissy the hen for
not laying an egg.)
From "Contemporary Authors":
"MacDonald followed The Egg and I with a children's story, Mrs. Piggle-
Wiggle, in 1947. Illustrated by Richard Bennett, (and later, Hilary
Knight) the work was the first in a series of books about a mother and
her special remedies for children who misbehave. As detailed in
MacDonald's book, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle offers the following advice to a
mother whose daughter, Patsy, will not bathe: 'All you have to do is
buy one package of radish seeds. The small red round ones are the
best, and don't get that long white icicle type. Then, let Patsy
strictly alone as far as washing is concerned, for several weeks. When
she has about half an inch of rich black dirt all over her and after
she is asleep at night, scatter radish seeds on her arms and head.
Press them in gently and then just wait. I don't think you will have
to water them because we are in the rainy season now and she probably
will go outdoors now and then. When the little radish plants have
three leaves you may begin pulling the largest ones.' "
(I loved the first book, but to me, at least, the later Piggle-Wiggle
books are full of forced humor.)
From Wikipedia:
"There is a musical entitled The Magic Mrs. Piggle Wiggle as well. In
the 1990s, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle was made into a TV series, starring Jean
Stapleton, of All in the Family fame."
"A biography of Betty Macdonald, Much Laughter,A Few Tears was
published in 1992 by a friend,Blanche Caffiere.
"In 2007, Betty MacDonald's daughter, Anne MacDonald Canham, published
a new book, Happy Birthday, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, based in part on
stories created by her mother, plus her own creative tales. The book
is attributed to both mother and daughter.
"On 13th March 2008 BBC Radio 4 broadcast a tribute programme to Betty
MacDonald,commemorating the 100th anniversary of her birth."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/arts/pip/cbh7d/
http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=156
(biography and photos)
Excerpt: "Continuing to amuse her fans with tongue-in-cheek accounts
of her own experience, MacDonald wrote The Plague and I, a humorous
but poignant account of her battle with tuberculosis. The Plague And I
remains one of a tiny handful of first-person accounts of life in a
tuberculosis sanatorium before the era of penicillin."
MacDonald died of cancer at age 49.
WRITINGS BY THE AUTHOR:
FOR ADULTS; AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL
The Egg and I (partially serialized before publication in the Atlantic
Monthly), Lippincott, 1945.
The Plague and I (partially serialized before publication in Good
Housekeeping), Lippincott, 1948.
Anybody Can Do Anything, Lippincott, 1950.
Onions in the Stew, Lippincott, 1955.
Who Me? The Autobiography of Betty MacDonald (contains portions of The
Egg and I, The Plague and I, Anybody Can Do Anything, and Onions in
the Stew), Lippincott, 1959.
FOR CHILDREN
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, illustrated by Richard Bennett, Lippincott, 1947,
new edition illustrated by Hilary Knight, 1957.
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Magic, illustrated by Kurt Wiese, Lippincott,
1949, new edition illustrated by H. Knight, 1957.
Nancy and Plum, illustrated by Hildegarde Hopkins, Lippincott, 1952.
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Farm, illustrated by Maurice Sendak, Lippincott,
1954.
Hello, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, illustrated by H. Knight, Lippincott,
1957.
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle Treasury, illustrated by Hilary Knight,
HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1994.
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Won't-Pick-Up-Toys Cure, illustrated by Bruce
Whatley, HarperCollins, 1997.
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Won't-Take-a-Bath Cure, illustrated by Bruce
Whatley, HarperCollins, 1997.
Happy Birthday, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, 2007.
Lenona.
leno...@yahoo.com
(a few articles about today's anniversary)
Lenona.