John D. Fitzgerald
Encyclopedia
John Dennis Fitzgerald was an American
author.
Fitzgerald was born in Price
, Utah
, the son of an Irish Catholic
father and a Scandinavia
n Mormon
mother. He left Utah in 1925, at the age of 18, and held a variety of jobs, including playing in a jazz
band, working at a bank and working for a steel company.
Fitzgerald published his first novel, Papa Married a Mormon, in 1955. Other novels for adults about late nineteenth and early twentieth century Utah followed. Fitzgerald had many stories published in magazines, and he also co-wrote two textbooks about creative writing. In the 1960s, he turned his attention to books for children, writing the highly successful The Great Brain
series, in which his characters are loosely based on characters from his own family and community, including himself. The Great Brain is based on his brother, Tom Fitzgerald (1902-1988). Fitzgerald changed many family details in the Great Brain series. He omitted his oldest sibling Isabelle and his younger brothers Charles and Gerald, gave his older brother William the name Sweyn, and invented a family custom of giving sons the middle name Dennis (his older brothers were William J. and Thomas N., not Sweyn D. and Tom D.)
The novels are structured like a collection of short stories
, in which Tom either swindles people and then rationalizes it by claiming it was to teach them a lesson, or solves an important problem for the community. There are eight books in the series.
Adult fiction
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author.
Fitzgerald was born in Price
Price, Utah
Price is a city in Carbon County, Utah, United States. The city is home to the USU-College of Eastern Utah, as well as the large USU Eastern Prehistoric Museum affiliated with the college. Price is located within short distances from both Nine Mile Canyon and the Manti-La Sal National Forest...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, the son of an Irish Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
father and a Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
mother. He left Utah in 1925, at the age of 18, and held a variety of jobs, including playing in a jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
band, working at a bank and working for a steel company.
Fitzgerald published his first novel, Papa Married a Mormon, in 1955. Other novels for adults about late nineteenth and early twentieth century Utah followed. Fitzgerald had many stories published in magazines, and he also co-wrote two textbooks about creative writing. In the 1960s, he turned his attention to books for children, writing the highly successful The Great Brain
The Great Brain
The Great Brain is a series of children's books by American author John Dennis Fitzgerald . Set in the fictitious small town of Adenville, Utah, between 1896 and 1898, the stories are loosely based on Fitzgerald's childhood experiences. Although John D...
series, in which his characters are loosely based on characters from his own family and community, including himself. The Great Brain is based on his brother, Tom Fitzgerald (1902-1988). Fitzgerald changed many family details in the Great Brain series. He omitted his oldest sibling Isabelle and his younger brothers Charles and Gerald, gave his older brother William the name Sweyn, and invented a family custom of giving sons the middle name Dennis (his older brothers were William J. and Thomas N., not Sweyn D. and Tom D.)
The novels are structured like a collection of short stories
Short Stories
Short Stories may refer to:*A plural for Short story*Short Stories , an American pulp magazine published from 1890-1959*Short Stories, a 1954 collection by O. E...
, in which Tom either swindles people and then rationalizes it by claiming it was to teach them a lesson, or solves an important problem for the community. There are eight books in the series.
The Great Brain series
- The Great Brain
- More Adventures of the Great Brain
- Me and My Little Brain
- The Great Brain at the Academy
- The Great Brain Reforms
- The Return of the Great Brain
- The Great Brain Does It Again
- The Great Brain Is Back (Published from loose notes after the author's death)
Adult fiction
- Papa Married a Mormon (1955)
- Mamma's Boarding House (1958, sequel to Papa Married a Mormon)
- Uncle Will and the Fitzgerald Curse (1961)
Other books
- The Professional Story Writer and His Art (1963)
- Structuring Your Novel: From Basic Idea to Finished Manuscript with Robert C. Meredith (1972)
- Brave Buffalo Fighter (1973)
- Private Eye (1974)