Looking for Betty MacDonald The Egg, the Plague, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, and I / Paula Becker.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Becker, Paula (Paula J.), author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

MacDonald, Betty Bard.

Children's literature--Authorship.

Children's literature.

Authors, American--20th century--Biography.

Authors, American.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (301 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates) : illustrations, photographs

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

2016. Seattle : University of Washington Press,

Summary:

"Betty Bard MacDonald (1907-1958), the best-selling author of The Egg and I and the classic Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle children's books, burst onto the literary scene shortly after the end of World War II. Readers embraced her memoir of her years as a young bride operating a chicken ranch on Washington's Olympic Peninsula, and The Egg and I sold its first million copies in less than a year. The public was drawn to MacDonald's vivacity, her offbeat humor, and her irreverent take on life. In 1947, the book was made into a movie starring Fred MacMurray and Claudette Colbert, and spawned a series of films featuring her Ma and Pa Kettle characters. MacDonald followed up the success of The Egg and I with the creation of Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, a magical woman who cures children of their bad habits, and with three additional memoirs: The Plague and I (chronicling her time in a tuberculosis sanitarium just outside Seattle), Anybody Can Do Anything (recounting her madcap attempts to find work during the Great Depression), and Onions in the Stew (about her life raising two teenage daughters on Vashon Island). Paula Becker was granted full access to Betty MacDonald's archives, including materials never before seen by any researcher. Looking for Betty MacDonald reveals the story behind the memoirs and the difference between the real Betty MacDonald and her literary persona."-- Provided by publisher

Contents:

Note to readers

Prologue: the house and I

The richest hill on Earth

A twist of fate

Child bride

Especially Betty

Egged on

Smelling like sugar cookies

Betty in Hollywoodland

Authing

The name's Kettle

Family matters

Anybody can

Goodbye to all that

Epilogue: looking for Betty Macdonald

The Bard/MacDonald family

Betty's houses: place as witness

Bardisms.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780295999371

0295999373

OCLC:

957997809