Mary Mapes Dodge - Knowledge

1282: 505:, weaving into it much interesting material from the history of that country, which at that time she had never seen. The subject grew more and more absorbing to her. She worked upon the manuscript from morning till night, and sought every source of information which could make her pages more true to life or more entertaining to her readers. She ransacked libraries for books upon the Netherlands; made every traveler whom she knew tell her his tale of that country; and submitted every chapter to the test of the criticism of two accomplished Dutchmen living near her. Upon receiving the manuscript, the publisher, disappointed at not receiving a second collection of short stories, was tempted to reject it. But the author had nothing else ready, he could not afford to forego the prestige of her former success, and so, reluctantly and doubtfully, he issued the most successful juvenile tale of that time, 329: 418:. Her two sons were then at college, and it was eventually the younger son that turned the scale in favor of the Scribner proposition. He had studied till he had no strength, and his mother felt that he needed an extended vacation and change of scene. She herself had long wished to go abroad, and so, when she was offered a salary to begin upon the day of the preliminary offer—this was in April or May—with the understanding that the initial number of the magazine was not to appear until January, and freedom to spend the intervening time where and as she chose, she accepted the offer. From the first everything was left entirely in her hands, including the name, for which she chose 375:. Here, her life was mainly devoted to her children. As time went on, she found herself obliged to provide the money for their education and it was for this purpose that she turned to writing. A small cottage or farm-house which adjoined the orchard on her father's estate was taken for use as a study, and Dodge and her boys soon transformed it into a cozy "den". In this simply furnished abode, far enough away from the great house to insure quiet, she set to work in earnest. But, one afternoon of every week belonged exclusively to the boys. 1248: 407:. For this journal, she took charge of the household and juvenile departments, and before long, Dodge's reputation as editor equaled that which she had already attained as author. The circulation of the periodical was greatly increased, and the department itself rapidly grew into a very prominent feature of the weekly issues. It was her work in this field which first attracted the attention of Dr. J. G. Holland and Roswell Smith when, early in the 1870s, as directors of the company which published 33: 439: 610: 422:. The house decided to bring out the first number in November, and Dodge returned from Europe, having found nothing in the publications there to modify her original plan. At the end of the year, the new magazine had outstripped all competitors. Indeed, within a few months after the issue of the first number, Messrs. Osgood & Co. acknowledged that they could not stand against their rival, and made a proposition which resulted in the merging of 1263: 157: 1301: 579:. Throughout, it shows sincerity of poetic feeling; a rich imagination; a genuine love of nature; and a happy serenity of heart. "Enfoldings", the sonnet on "The Stars", "Inverted", and "The Two Mysteries" were particularly praised. Her works found their way into various anthologies whose editors – some of them distinguished critics – were quite willing to call them poems, even if their author was not. 1095: 1070: 1047: 1026: 995: 972: 575:, was published. With her usual modesty, Dodge would not dignify her volume of verse by the name of "poems", preferring the simple title of " Along the Way". But, as one critic said of it at the time, "It is a happy thing for those of us who do not walk such ways to have her show us what may there be seen." In 1883, Dodge was persuaded to issue a new edition of this work, under the title 665:

style of spontaneous charm, and coupled with humor whose thrusts leave no sting, are intellectual integrity, delight in discovering and acknowledging in others gifts of mind or spirit, responsiveness, a quickness to feel and believe as buoyant as if her energies had not been claimed by an absorbing profession, and an outlook undimmed by ambitions and activities.

500:

the scene of a juvenile tale, and give the youngsters so much of the history of that country as should tell itself, naturally, through the evolution of the story. She was really improvising it as a "good-night story" for her boys – making it up as she went along. In the heat of kindled imagination,

446:

Dodge's first published article, "Shoddy Aristocracy in America", and the manner of its publication, were as much the outcome of her susceptibility to the human, as well as the literary, appeal of life as to her sense of humor and instinct for artistic expression. Because it was based upon personal

370:

In 1851, she married William Dodge, a lawyer from New York City. Within the next four years she gave birth to two sons, James and Harrington. In 1857, William faced serious financial difficulties and left his family in 1858. A month after his disappearance, his body was found after he died from an

664:

Dodge's writing interpreted childhood. "The child's world is a different world, a preparatory world, a world that is coming on. You must build yourself around the humanity of childhood." And again, "The natural thing is the thing that grasps a child in literature as well as in life." Underlying a

562:

was a book of stories and sketches for grown people. Among its contents were a clever satire, "The Insanity of Cain", which at once attracted wide notice, and the mirth-provoking comicality in Irish dialect, "Miss Maloney on the Chinese Question". This skit – which was compared in rank to Bret

590:, which opens with her well-known poem "The Minuet", and contains many other favorite pieces. Both books won praise from critics, and a very large audience among young readers. During her career as an editor, Dodge published seven books for adults as well as two books for small children, 633:. In the beginning, it was a simple little square frame-house, and Dodge took great delight in adding, year by year, a room or a veranda, a bay-window or an extension, until she created, at last, a many-gabled home, to which she returned each season. 567:

immediately gave it a place of honor in her public readings as one of her favorite selections, and sending for its author, asked her to write a companion-piece. A long and warm friendship between the two distinguished women dated from this interview.

411:, they began to consider the publication of a new juvenile monthly. Their decision really hinged upon hers, for they were heartily ready to undertake the project provided they could obtain her consent to assume its management and become its editor. 655:

Dodge had been suffering from a severe illness for several months, and it was hoped that the usual sojourn in her summer cottage at Onteora might restore her to health, but she steadily grew weaker until her death on August 21, 1905.

563:

Harte's "Heathen Chinee" – had an enormous popularity in its day, and was later included in many collections of humorous masterpieces. It was written in a single evening, to fill a blank space in a magazine.

462:, and "The Insanity of Cain", a brilliant piece of special pleading, and one of her most characteristic essays in the humorous or satirical vein, attained instant popularity at the time of its publication in 355:, the distinguished promoter of scientific farming in the United States; and Sophia Furman (or Ferrman). Her siblings included Charles V. Mapes, Sophia Mapes (Tolles, the artist), and Catherine T. (Bonnell). 358:

The daughters of Professor Mapes never went to school. They gained their education at home under the care of tutors and governesses, being carefully trained, not only in the usual English branches, but in

255:

After the death of her husband, Dodge turned to literature as a means to earn the money to educate her sons. She began to write short sketches for children, and soon brought out a volume of them, entitled

469:

After the publication in leading magazines of several essays and stories for grown-up readers, Dodge brought out, in 1864, her first book – made up of short tales for children – under the title of

414:

Smith asked Dodge to edit the new magazine for children. Meanwhile, wishing to give her undivided time to writing, she had refused a very handsome offer to become the editor of

1416: 601:"The Two Mysteries", "Enfoldings", and "The Compact " demonstrated her depth and tenderness of feeling, intellectual poise, spiritual insight, and simplicity of expression. 484:

But Dodge, meantime, had begun work upon a longer narrative. Like the rest of the reading world, she had been thrilled and fascinated by the lately-published histories of

466:. This article grew out of a remark to Roswell Smith when Dodge and he were discussing the recent acquittal of a criminal on the plea of emotional insanity. 451:, of London, as a publication safely removed from the comedy and the actors it presented. By return post, she received payment of £50 and a request from 1315: 455:

for a series of papers. To Dodge's amazement, the article was reprinted in whole or in part by many of the leading newspapers in the United States.

266:(New York, 1865); translated into Dutch, French, German, Russian and Italian, and was awarded a prize of 1,500 francs by the French Academy. With 1426: 1107:

A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life

1267: 1396: 1082:

The Family Record: Devoted for 1897 to the Sackett, the Weygant and the Mapes Families, and to Ancestors of Their Intersecting Lines

1431: 1386: 1401: 914: 1349: 1178:

Gannon, Susan R.; Ruth Anne Thompson (1992). "Mr. Scudder and Mrs. Dodge: An Editorial Correspondence and What it Tells Us,"

1155: 1391: 32: 1421: 687: 507: 262: 95: 1406: 1015: 328: 174: 621:

in New York City. In 1888, she purchased a cottage, which she named "Yarrow", in the summer colony at Onteora Park,

1253: 1354: 622: 1062:

Our Famous Women: An Authorized Record of the Lives and Deeds of Distinguished American Women of Our Times ...

280:, and for several years, she conducted the household and children's department of that journal. In 1873, when 156: 1411: 371:

apparent drowning. With her two children, she returned to the family homestead, a large country house near

231: 190:

She was able to persuade many of the great writers of the world to contribute to her children's magazine –

1214: 926: 586:, a collection of sketches and stories which takes its name from the opening article about Holland, and 1357:

readable free online from the University of Florida Baldwin Library of Historical Children's Literature

207: 1119: 1360: 215: 178:. She was the recognized leader in juvenile literature for almost a third of the nineteenth century. 169: 1147:

Our Sister Editors: Sarah J. Hale and the Tradition of Nineteenth-century American Women Editors

982: 626: 340: 199: 75: 38: 1057: 1036: 1005: 404: 400: 304:(New York, 1883). She was the author of "Miss Maloney on the Chinese Question," published in 271: 267: 227: 211: 203: 183: 1111: 1381: 1376: 1224:

Sorby, Angela (1998). "A Visit from St. Nicholas: The Poetics of Peer Culture, 1872–1900",

1086: 187:

for more than 30 years, and it became one of the most successful magazines for children.

8: 485: 481:. So great was its popularity that the publisher asked for a second series or a sequel. 630: 372: 367:. She early showed talents for drawing, modeling and musical and literary composition. 554:

Three years later, in 1877, she published a book of essays and short stories entitled

1277: 1233:

Lady of the Silver Skates: the Life and Correspondence of Mary Mapes Dodge, 1830–1905

1151: 1011: 637: 564: 195: 132: 648:. Her daughter-in-law, Mrs. James Mapes Dodge (Josephine Kern), was the sculptor of 1286: 524: 520: 1105: 1080: 609: 1145: 1136:

Jasspon Kunitz, Stanley; Howard Haycraft (1938). "Dodge, Mary Elizabeth (Mapes)"

512: 478: 360: 352: 276: 248: 235: 143: 1325: 1038:

Women authors of our day in their homes: personal descriptions & interviews

532: 528: 516: 1273: 927:"Mary Mapes Dodge Dead. The Poet, Author, and Editor of St. Nicholas Magazine" 399:

in 1870. The publication was a weekly family paper, of which the editors were

1370: 1099: 1074: 1051: 1030: 999: 983:"In Memory of Mary Mapes Dodge. Died August 21, 1905. By William Fayal Clark" 976: 348: 1306: 1056:

Phelps, Elizabeth Stuart; Stowe, Harriet Beecher; Cooke, Rose Terry (1884).

438: 645: 641: 618: 336: 1350:

University of Florida Baldwin Library of Historical Children's Literature

1319: 571:

In 1879, a collection of poems and verses for grown-up readers, entitled

502: 497: 383:

In 1859, she began working with her father to publish two magazines, the

989:. Vol. 32, Part 2 (Public domain ed.). Scribner & Company. 511:(1865). It became an instant bestseller and was translated into French, 458:

Her first short story, "My Mysterious Enemy", was promptly accepted by

219: 191: 246:. He never had written for children, but he would try. The result was 474: 284:

was started, she became its editor. Her other published volumes were

852: 850: 848: 846: 1295: 1291: 547:. From the first issue, its success was almost as great as that of 223: 1262: 1124:

The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans

260:, (New York, 1864), which was very successful. She next published 1343: 1098: