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For the medical librarian, see Mildred M. Jordan.

Mildred Jordan (March 18, 1901 – October 23, 1982) was an American writer and playwright. Born in Chicago, she worked at the Hull House [1] before relocating to Reading, Pennsylvania after her marriage. [2] Her first novel, One Red Rose Forever, which was based on the history of Lancaster County, was rejected by twenty-two publishers before finally appearing in 1941. [3] Her subsequent books often focused on the lives of Pennsylvania Dutch immigrants to America. [1] [4]

Public reaction to Jordan's work was mixed. While a 1954 review of her play The Wonderful Cornelia referred to her as "one of the nation's best-known novelists", [5] John Updike expressed a more ambivalent view of her talents several years later, dismissing her in a sentence as "an unmeetably rich industrialist's wife". [6]

In addition to her own writing, Jordan also served as the editor of the Berks County Historical Magazine. [4] She received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Albright College in 1979. [7]

Jordan was represented by the literary agent Annie Laurie Williams, [5] whose other clients included Margaret Mitchell, John Steinbeck, and Truman Capote. [8]

Bibliography

Novels

  • One Red Rose Forever (1941)
  • Apple in the Attic (1942)
  • The Shoo-fly Pie (1944)
  • I Won't, Said the King (1945)
  • Asylum for the Queen (1948)
  • Miracle in Brittany (1950)
  • Echo of the Flute (1958)

Plays

  • The Wonderful Cornelia (1954)
  • Apple in the Attic (1962) (with Lucile Logan)

Nonfiction works

  • Proud to be Amish (1968)
  • The Distelfink Country of the Pennsylvania Dutch (1968)

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Devlin, Ron (June 8, 2012). "French royalty found refuge nearby". Reading Eagle. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  2. ^ Reed, Irene (2005). Berks County Women in History: Profiles. Tudor Gate Press. p. 17. ISBN  9780974094960. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  3. ^ Delbanco, Nicholas (1990). Speaking of Writing: Selected Hopwood Lectures. University of Michigan Press. p.  117. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  4. ^ a b "Mildred Jordan (Bausher) 1901-1982". HGBooks.com. 2005. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  5. ^ a b L.P.H. (March 25, 1954). "Mildred Jordan's Play Wins Applause of First Nighters". Reading Eagle. p. 20. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  6. ^ Updike, John (August 11, 1968). "Writers I Have Met". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  7. ^ Dreese, Sydney (2012). "Mildred Jordan Finding Aid". Albright College Archives & Special Collections. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  8. ^ "Annie Laurie Williams, Literary Agent". Denison High School Alumni Association. April 11, 2013. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
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