December 2007

Laughing with Betty MacDonald
In 1945, Betty MacDonald took her bitter memories of life on a remote chicken farm in the Pacific Northwest and fashioned them into a bestseller she called The Egg and I. The book hatched many editions, a major motion picture, and nine spin-off films featuring Ma and Pa Kettle. In the remaining 12 years of her too-brief life, MacDonald wrote several more memoirs and a series of children’s books.

Betty MacDonald: The Children’s Books
MacDonald’s popular Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle series is still in print; Nancy and Plum is her most elusive book.

Goodbye, Harry?
During a train back to London from an apartment-hunting trip to Manchester, a skinny black-haired, bespectacled boy strolled into Joanne Rowling’s mind. His name was Harry Potter. They formed a team that created an international sensation. Now, seven books later, is it all over between them?

Charles Dickens: Ten Years On
If you are interested in literature, you are interested in Dickens: he is the most important English writer between Shakespeare and Joyce. We revisit the September 1997 Firsts issue dedicated to Dickens, and take a look at the changes in the Dickens marketplace over the last decade.

Ten Years Ago
Jessamyn West

Books into Film
The World of Henry Orient

Books into Film
Sophie’s Choice