âA passionate, wise and tender exploration of a surprisingly compelling life. Beckerâs fascination for her subject is utterly contagious: I found myself late-night Googling Betty, determined to track down everything she ever wrote!â?Julie Myerson, author of The Stopped Heart: A Novel
Betty MacDonald (1907â1958), The Egg and I and the classic Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle childrenâs books, exploded onto the literary scene just as after WWII ended. Her first memoir, The Egg and I, was a much needed tonic to a war weary public and readers flocked to the hilarious memoir of her years on a chicken ranch on Washingtonâs Olympic Peninsula. It sold one million copies in less than a year. âThe Egg and Iâ was adapted to screen starring Fred MacMurray and Claudette Colbert, and that film spawned a series of films featuring MacDonaldâs love-able Ma and Pa Kettle characters.
Betty MacDonald followed the success of The Egg with the creation of the now classic childrenâs character, the magical Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle who rids children of their bad habits. Three more memoirs followed: âThe Plague and Iâ (a rare, and funny, account of life in a tuberculosis sanitarium), âAnybody Can Do Anythingâ (trust Betty to find humour in the Great Depression and the trials and tribulations of finding work), and âOnions in the Stewâ (a funny look at raising two teenage daughters that still rings true today).
Granted full access to the archives of Betty MacDonaldâs, Paula Beckerâs biography includes materials never before seen by any researcher. In this first official biography of this beloved Northwest storyteller, Becker tells us the story behind the memoirs and the reveals difference between the real Betty MacDonald and her literary persona.