Margery Williams
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Margery Williams Bianco (July 22, 1881—September 4, 1944) was an English-American author, primarily of popular children's books. A professional writer since the age of nineteen, she achieved lasting fame at forty-one with the 1922 publication of the classic that is her best-known work, The Velveteen Rabbit.[1]
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[edit] Final years
In her final nine years, Bianco interspersed children's books with novels for young adults. These all featured young people who were in one way or another isolated or alienated from mainstream society and the joy, success, prosperity and social acceptance seemingly enjoyed by their peers. One of those books, Winterbound, about two girls, still in their teenage years, who are called upon to assume adult responsibilities in caring for their young siblings, when the parents have to go away suddenly, was a runner-up for the 1937 Newbery Medal showcasing excellence in youth literature. In 1971, upon the establishment of the Newbery Honor, the work was retroactively distinguished with that prestigious citation.
In 1939, as her native Britain was once again plunged into war, Bianco began to include patriotic themes and references to European history in her works, such as 1941's Franzi and Gizi. Her final book, 1944's Forward Commandos!, was an inspirational story of wartime heroism, which included as one of its characters a black soldier. Acknowledging the contribution of African-Americans to the war effort was extremely rare in literary output of the time and that fact was noted in the book's reviews.
Margery Williams Bianco did not live to see World War II come to an end. As Forward Commandos! went on sale, she became ill and, after three days in the hospital, died at the age of 63.
[edit] Bibliography
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[edit] Works
- 1902 The Late Returning
- 1904 The Price of Youth
- 1906 The Bar
- 1922 The Velveteen Rabbit
- 1925 Poor Cecco
- 1925 The Little Wooden Doll
- 1926 The Apple Tree
- 1927 The Skin Horse
- 1927 The Adventures of Andy
- 1929 All About Pets
- 1929 The Candlestick
- 1931 The House That Grew Smaller
- 1932 The Street of Little Shops
- 1933 The Hurdy-Gurdy Man
- 1934 The Good Friends
- 1934 More About Animals
- 1936 Green Grows the Garden
- 1936 Winterbound
- 1939 Other People's Houses
- 1941 Franzi and Gizi
- 1942 Bright Morning
- 1942 Penny and the White Horse
- 1944 Forward, Commandos!
[edit] Works Translated
- 1927 The African Saga Translated from the French of Blaise Cendrars.
- 1928 Juniper Farm Translated from the French of René Bazin.
- 1929 Little Black Stories Translated from the French of Blaise Cendrars.
- 1937 Rufus, the Fox Translated from the French of Samivel.
[edit] References
- ^ Untitled Document at www.theatrebristol.org
- Moore, Anne Carroll, and Bertha Mahony Miller (ed.), Writing and Criticism: A Book for Margery Bianco. The Horn Book, Inc. Boston 1951.
[edit] External links
- Works by Margery Williams Bianco at Project Gutenberg
- Margery Williams from HarperCollins Publishers at www.harpercollins.com
- Untitled Document at www.theatrebristol.org
- Margery Williams - The Velveteen Rabbit at Embracing the Child at www.embracingthechild.org
