Betty MacDonald
Encyclopedia
Betty MacDonald was an American author
who specialized in humorous autobiographical
tales, and is best known for her book The Egg and I
. She also wrote the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
series of children's books. She is associated with the Pacific Northwest
, especially Washington state.
. Her official birth date is given as March 26, 1908 (although federal census records seem to indicate 1907). Her family moved from Butte, Montana
, to the north slope of Seattle's Capitol Hill
neighborhood in 1918, moving to the Laurelhurst
neighborhood a year later and finally settling in the Roosevelt
neighborhood in 1922, where she graduated from Roosevelt High School
in 1924. MacDonald married Robert Eugene Heskett (1895-1951) in July 1927 when she was 20 years old and he was 31, and the couple moved to a chicken farm in the Olympic Peninsula
's Chimacum Valley, near Center
a few miles south of the seaside community of Port Townsend
.
MacDonald left Robert in 1931 and returned to Seattle, where she worked at a variety of jobs to support her daughters Anne and Joan from her marriage to Heskett. Once the couple was divorced, contact between the two ex spouses was virtually nonexistent. Betty MacDonald spent nine months at Firlands Sanitorium outside of Seattle in 1937-1938 for treatment of tuberculosis
.
On April 24, 1942, she married Donald C. MacDonald (1910-1975) and moved to Vashon Island
, where she wrote most of her books. The MacDonalds later moved to California's Carmel Valley in 1956.
MacDonald rocketed to fame when her first book, The Egg and I
, was published in 1945. It was a huge bestseller and was translated into 20 languages. Loosely based on her life on a Chimacum Valley chicken farm, it introduced the characters Ma and Pa Kettle
, who also were featured in the movie version of The Egg and I
and were so popular a series of nine more films were made featuring them. In the film of The Egg and I, made in 1947, Betty MacDonald was played by Claudette Colbert
. Her husband (simply called 'Bob' in the book) was called 'Bob MacDonald' in the film, as studio executives were keen not to raise the matter of MacDonald's divorce in the public consciousness. He was played by Fred MacMurray
.
Although the book was a critical as well as a popular success on publication, more recently it has been criticised for its stereotypical treatment of native Americans. It has also been claimed that it "spawned a perception of Washington as a land of eccentric country bumpkins like Ma and Pa Kettle." MacDonald's defenders point out that in the context of the 1940s such stereotyping was far more acceptable. MacDonald faced two lawsuits by members of a family who claimed she had based the Kettles on them and by a man who claimed he was the model for the Indian 'Crowbar'. One case was settled out of court, while in the second it was shown that some of those claiming defamation had in fact profited from the fame brought by the book and film.
MacDonald also published three other semi-autobiographical books: Anybody Can Do Anything recounting her life in the Depression trying to find work,The Plague and I about her stay at Firlands, and Onions in the Stew
about her life on Vashon Island
with her second husband and daughters during the War years. She also wrote the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle series of children's books that are still popular today, and another children's book entitled "Nancy and Plum.".
MacDonald died in Seattle, Washington, of uterine cancer
on February 7, 1958, aged 49.
In 2007, MacDonald's daughter, Anne MacDonald Canham, published Happy Birthday, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, based on stories and characters created by her mother. The book is attributed to both mother and daughter. MacDonald's younger daughter, Joan MacDonald Keil, died in July 2005.
On March 13, 2008, BBC Radio 4
broadcast a tribute programme to Betty MacDonald, commemorating the 100th anniversary of her birth. In 2009, BBC Radio 4
also broadcast a reading of MacDonald's book, "Anybody Can Do Anything."
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
who specialized in humorous autobiographical
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
tales, and is best known for her book The Egg and I
The Egg and I
The Egg and I, first published in 1945, is a humorous memoir by American author Betty MacDonald about her adventures and travels as a young wife on a chicken farm on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state...
. She also wrote the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle is the title of a series of books by Betty MacDonald. The first book in this series is called Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle , and sequels include, in publication order, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Magic, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Farm, Hello, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, and Happy Birthday, Mrs....
series of children's books. She is associated with the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
, especially Washington state.
Life and work
MacDonald was born Anne Elizabeth Campbell Bard in Boulder, ColoradoBoulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
. Her official birth date is given as March 26, 1908 (although federal census records seem to indicate 1907). Her family moved from Butte, Montana
Butte, Montana
Butte is a city in Montana and the county seat of Silver Bow County, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. As of the 2010 census, Butte's population was 34,200...
, to the north slope of Seattle's Capitol Hill
Capitol Hill, Seattle, Washington
Capitol Hill is the most densely populated residential district in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the center of the city's gay and counterculture communities, and is one of the city's most prominent nightlife and entertainment districts....
neighborhood in 1918, moving to the Laurelhurst
Laurelhurst, Seattle, Washington
Laurelhurst is a residential neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, USA. It is bounded on the northeast by Ivanhoe Place N.E., beyond which is Windermere; on the northwest by Sand Point Way N.E. and N.E...
neighborhood a year later and finally settling in the Roosevelt
Roosevelt, Seattle, Washington
Roosevelt is a neighborhood in north Seattle, Washington. Its main thoroughfare, originally 10th Avenue, was renamed Roosevelt Way upon Theodore Roosevelt's death in 1919...
neighborhood in 1922, where she graduated from Roosevelt High School
Roosevelt High School (Seattle)
Roosevelt High School is a public school in the Seattle Public Schools district of Seattle, Washington, USA. Founded in the 1920s, Roosevelt continues to be one of the largest schools in the greater Seattle area....
in 1924. MacDonald married Robert Eugene Heskett (1895-1951) in July 1927 when she was 20 years old and he was 31, and the couple moved to a chicken farm in the Olympic Peninsula
Olympic Peninsula
The Olympic Peninsula is the large arm of land in western Washington state of the USA, that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the east by Puget Sound. Cape Alava, the westernmost point in the contiguous...
's Chimacum Valley, near Center
Center, Washington
Center is an unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Washington, United States. Center was so named because it was at one point considered to be the center of Jefferson County, although it is now significantly to the east. Center is not a town, but rather the name often applied to this...
a few miles south of the seaside community of Port Townsend
Port Townsend, Washington
Port Townsend is a city in Jefferson County, Washington, United States, approximately north-northwest of Seattle . The population was 9,113 at the 2010 census an increase of 9.3% over the 2000 census. It is the county seat and only incorporated city of Jefferson County...
.
MacDonald left Robert in 1931 and returned to Seattle, where she worked at a variety of jobs to support her daughters Anne and Joan from her marriage to Heskett. Once the couple was divorced, contact between the two ex spouses was virtually nonexistent. Betty MacDonald spent nine months at Firlands Sanitorium outside of Seattle in 1937-1938 for treatment of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
.
On April 24, 1942, she married Donald C. MacDonald (1910-1975) and moved to Vashon Island
Vashon Island
Vashon is a census-designated place in King County, Washington, United States. It covers an island alternately called Vashon Island or Vashon-Maury Island, the largest island in Puget Sound south of Admiralty Inlet. The population was 10,624 at the 2010 census. At , it is about 60 percent larger...
, where she wrote most of her books. The MacDonalds later moved to California's Carmel Valley in 1956.
MacDonald rocketed to fame when her first book, The Egg and I
The Egg and I
The Egg and I, first published in 1945, is a humorous memoir by American author Betty MacDonald about her adventures and travels as a young wife on a chicken farm on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state...
, was published in 1945. It was a huge bestseller and was translated into 20 languages. Loosely based on her life on a Chimacum Valley chicken farm, it introduced the characters Ma and Pa Kettle
Ma and Pa Kettle
Ma and Pa Kettle are comic film characters of the successful film series of the same name, produced by Universal Studios, in the late '40s and '50s. They are a hillbilly couple with fifteen children whose lives turn upside-down when they win a model-home-of-the-future in a slogan-writing contest...
, who also were featured in the movie version of The Egg and I
The Egg and I
The Egg and I, first published in 1945, is a humorous memoir by American author Betty MacDonald about her adventures and travels as a young wife on a chicken farm on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state...
and were so popular a series of nine more films were made featuring them. In the film of The Egg and I, made in 1947, Betty MacDonald was played by Claudette Colbert
Claudette Colbert
Claudette Colbert was a French-born American-based actress of stage and film.Born in Paris, France and raised in New York City, Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the 1920s, progressing to film with the advent of talking pictures...
. Her husband (simply called 'Bob' in the book) was called 'Bob MacDonald' in the film, as studio executives were keen not to raise the matter of MacDonald's divorce in the public consciousness. He was played by Fred MacMurray
Fred MacMurray
Frederick Martin "Fred" MacMurray was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 movies and a successful television series during a career that spanned nearly a half-century, from 1930 to the 1970s....
.
Although the book was a critical as well as a popular success on publication, more recently it has been criticised for its stereotypical treatment of native Americans. It has also been claimed that it "spawned a perception of Washington as a land of eccentric country bumpkins like Ma and Pa Kettle." MacDonald's defenders point out that in the context of the 1940s such stereotyping was far more acceptable. MacDonald faced two lawsuits by members of a family who claimed she had based the Kettles on them and by a man who claimed he was the model for the Indian 'Crowbar'. One case was settled out of court, while in the second it was shown that some of those claiming defamation had in fact profited from the fame brought by the book and film.
MacDonald also published three other semi-autobiographical books: Anybody Can Do Anything recounting her life in the Depression trying to find work,The Plague and I about her stay at Firlands, and Onions in the Stew
Onions in the Stew
Onions in the Stew is the fourth in a series of humorous autobiographical books by Betty MacDonald about her life on Vashon Island with her second husband and daughters during the Second World War years...
about her life on Vashon Island
Vashon Island
Vashon is a census-designated place in King County, Washington, United States. It covers an island alternately called Vashon Island or Vashon-Maury Island, the largest island in Puget Sound south of Admiralty Inlet. The population was 10,624 at the 2010 census. At , it is about 60 percent larger...
with her second husband and daughters during the War years. She also wrote the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle series of children's books that are still popular today, and another children's book entitled "Nancy and Plum.".
MacDonald died in Seattle, Washington, of uterine cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
on February 7, 1958, aged 49.
Legacy
MacDonald's sister, Mary Bard (Jensen), also was a published author. MacDonald had two other sisters. Dorothea Bard and Alison Bard, and one brother, Sydney Cleveland Bard. Another sister, Sylvia, died in infancy. All her siblings are now deceased.In 2007, MacDonald's daughter, Anne MacDonald Canham, published Happy Birthday, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, based on stories and characters created by her mother. The book is attributed to both mother and daughter. MacDonald's younger daughter, Joan MacDonald Keil, died in July 2005.
On March 13, 2008, BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
broadcast a tribute programme to Betty MacDonald, commemorating the 100th anniversary of her birth. In 2009, BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
also broadcast a reading of MacDonald's book, "Anybody Can Do Anything."