Betty MacDonald’s Followers (316)

Betty MacDonald

Born

in Boulder, Colorado, The United States

March 26, 1908

Died

February 07, 1958

Genre

Children's Books, Biographies & Memoirs

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MacDonald was born Anne Elizabeth Campbell Bard in Boulder, Colorado. Her official birth date is given as March 26, 1908, although federal census returns seem to indicate 1907.

Her family moved 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) at age 20 in July 1927; they lived on a chicken farm in the Olympic Peninsula's Chimacum Valley, near Center and a few miles south of Port Townsend. She left Heskett in 1931 and returned to Seattle, where she worked at a variety of jobs to support their daughters Anne MacDonald was born Anne Elizabeth Campbell Bard in Boulder, Colorado. Her official birth date is given as March 26, 1908, although federal census returns seem to indicate 1907.

Her family moved 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) at age 20 in July 1927; they lived on a chicken farm in the Olympic Peninsula's Chimacum Valley, near Center and a few miles south of Port Townsend. She left Heskett in 1931 and returned to Seattle, where she worked at a variety of jobs to support their daughters Anne and Joan; after the divorce the ex-spouses had virtually no contact.

She spent nine months at Firland Sanatorium near 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 moved to California's Carmel Valley in 1956.

MacDonald rose to fame when her first book, The Egg and I, was published in 1945. It was a bestseller and was translated into 20 languages. Based on her life on the Chimacum Valley chicken farm, the books introduced the characters Ma and Pa Kettle, who also were featured in the movie version of The Egg and I. The characters become so popular a series of nine more films were made featuring them. In the film of The Egg and I, made in 1947, 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 and popular success at publication, in the 1970s it was criticized for its stereotypical treatment of Native Americans. It had 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 character Crowbar. One lawsuit was settled out of court, while the second went to trial in February 1951. The plaintiffs did not prevail, although the judge indicated he felt they had shown that some of the claims of defamation had merit.

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, describing her nine-month stay at the Firlands tuberculosis sanitarium; 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 and another children's book, entitled Nancy and Plum. A posthumous collection of her writings, entitled Who Me?, was later released.[citation needed]
MacDonald died in Seattle of uterine cancer on February 7, 1958 ...more

Combine Editions
Betty MacDonald’s books

Average rating: 4.15 · 118,059 ratings · 4,985 reviews · 72 distinct works • Similar authors

	Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle (Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, #1) by Betty MacDonald, Alexandra Boiger (Illustrator) 4.16 avg rating — 54,931 ratings — published 1947 — 69 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hello, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle (Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, #4) by Betty MacDonald, Alexandra Boiger (Illustrator) 4.23 avg rating — 15,843 ratings — published 1955 — 35 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Magic (Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, #2) by Betty MacDonald, Hilary Knight (Illustrator) 4.15 avg rating — 15,122 ratings — published 1949 — 42 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Farm (Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, #3) by Betty MacDonald, Maurice Sendak (Illustrations) 4.15 avg rating — 10,546 ratings — published 1954 — 26 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Egg and I (Betty MacDonald Memoirs, #1) 3.89 avg rating — 10,118 ratings — published 1945	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Plague and I (Betty MacDonald Memoirs, #2) 4.20 avg rating — 2,354 ratings — published 1948 — 50 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Happy Birthday, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle (Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, #5) by Betty MacDonald, Anne MacDonald Canham, Alexandra Boiger (Illustrator) 4.07 avg rating — 1,622 ratings — published 2007 — 13 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Onions in the Stew (Betty MacDonald Memoirs, #4) 4.10 avg rating — 1,609 ratings — published 1955 — 40 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Mrs. Piggle Wiggle Box Set (Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, #1,2,3,4) 4.41 avg rating — 1,354 ratings — published 1995 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Nancy and Plum 4.24 avg rating — 1,270 ratings — published 1952 — 35 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Betty MacDonald…

Series by Betty MacDonald

Mrs. Piggle Wiggle (5 books)
by

Betty MacDonald,

Anne MacDonald Canham,

Alexandra Boiger (Illustrator)

4.17 avg rating — 101,005 ratings

Betty MacDonald Memoirs (4 books)
by

Betty MacDonald

3.98 avg rating — 15,496 ratings

Quotes by Betty MacDonald (?)

“There’s nothing as cozy as a piece of candy and a book.”
― Betty MacDonald, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Magic

tags: books, candy, cozy, reading

161 likes

“Another female household-hinter gave me a recipe for a big hearty main dish of elbow macaroni, mint jelly, lima beans, mayonnaise and cheese baked until 'hot and yummy.' Unless my taste buds are paralyzed, this dish could be baked until hell freezes over and it might get hot but never 'yummy.”
― Betty MacDonald, Onions in the Stew

tags: household-hints

36 likes

“I'll do it because I want to but not because you tell me to!”
― Betty MacDonald, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle

tags: on-authority

29 likes

See all Betty MacDonald's quotes »

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Betty MacDonald’s Followers (316)

Betty MacDonald

Combine EditionsBetty MacDonald’s books

Series by Betty MacDonald

Topics Mentioning This Author

Combine Editions
Betty MacDonald’s books