Nom légal: McCullough, Myrtle Reed
Autres noms: McCullough, Myrtle Reed
Green, Olive (pen name for her cookbooks)
Norton, Katherine LaFarge
Date de naissance: 1874-09-27
Date de décès: 1911-08-17
Lieu de sépulture: Graceland Cemetery, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Sexe: female
Nationalité: USA
Lieu de naissance: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Lieu du décès: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Lieux de résidence: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Professions: author
poet
journalist
cookbook author
philanthropist
Courte biographie: Myrtle Reed was born in Norwood Park, Chicago, Illinois, the youngest of three children and the only daughter of author Elizabeth Armstrong Reed and her husband Hiram Vaughn Reed, a preacher. Myrtle attended West Division High School in Chicago, where she edited the school newspaper. After graduating from high school, she began publishing her poems and stories, first in The Acorn, a magazine catering to children. Soon she became a regular contributor to such periodicals as Munsey's, Harper's Bazaar, and Cosmopolitan.

Her debut novel, Love Letters of a Musician (1899) was well-received by the public. It was followed by two more novel in rapid succession. However, it was Lavender and Old Lace (1902), that established her as an author, and the book inspired a stage adaptation in 1938. President Theodore Roosevelt read her The Book of Clever Beasts (1904) and wrote her a letter in praise of it. Her nonfiction book Love Affairs of Literary Men (1907) included Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, Thomas Carlyle, and Edgar Allan Poe. As a high school student, Myrtle began corresponding with James Sydney McCullough, a young Irish-Canadian newspaper editor in Toronto, and eventually married him in 1906 after a courtship that lasted nearly 15 years. Myrtle also wrote a series of cookbooks under the pseudonym Olive Green. Several of her works were published posthumously following her death of an overdose of sleep medication at age 37 in 1911.

Membres

Critiques

A Spinner In The Sun par Myrtle Reed

This book was not entirely what I was expecting it to be. There is both happiness and unhappiness in it, but it is probably the sorrow that leaves the biggest impression, even though everything ends being basically okay. There is one unforgettable and cruelly horrific scene that I could not make myself read in depth--animal lovers would do well to watch out. The best part of the book is young Dr. Ralph and Araminta. Dr. Anthony Dexter is utterly cold and incomprehensible, and I didn't care to read so much about him. Those parts of the book were really hard. It makes me wonder whether I would really want to read other things by this author. It was just a book that left me feeling more sad than happy.… (plus d'informations)

Signalé

Alishadt | 1 autre critique | Feb 25, 2023 |

At the Sign of the Jack O'Lantern par Myrtle Reed

This novel from 1905 is obviously old-fashioned, but I found it entertaining and often very funny. Harlan and Dorothy are young newlyweds. They inherit a big, gloomy country mansion from Harlan�ÃÂªs Uncle Ebeneezer, whom they have never met. Shortly after they move in, and Harlan begins to pursue his dream of writing a novel, EbeneezerÂÃÂªs wacky relatives begin arriving. They claim that they always spend summers at the mansion, and see no reason why a change in ownership should alter this satisfactory custom.

This motley cast of characters not only impose on Harlan and DorothyÂÃÂªs hospitality, but they have an ulterior motive: they all believe the Uncle has hidden money and other valuables on the premises, and each believes he or she is the one Ebeneezer intended to have it. This leads to much stealthy nocturnal exploration of the house and grounds, and various players absconding into the shrubbery with shovels and spades.

It could all be quite hilarious, but the author doesnÂÃÂªt completely commit to the farce. She also interjects some very serious and somber musings on what itÂÃÂªs like to be a writer and how isolating and all consuming the creative process becomes. I found these passages to be interesting, but completely discordant in tone with the rest of the novel, dulling the humorous edge.

Despite these complaints, this was a quick and quaint read, and it was fun discovering the clever way Ebeneezer had set up his relatives for their final comeuppance.… (plus d'informations)

Signalé

AngeH | 2 autres critiques | Jan 2, 2020 |