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Florence McLandburgh

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Florence McLandburgh
BornApril 22, 1850
Chillicothe, Ohio, U.S.
DiedJune 3, 1934 (aged 84)
Akron, Ohio, U.S.
Other namesMcLandburgh Wilson
OccupationWriter

Florence McLandburgh (April 22, 1850 – June 3, 1934) was an American writer of fiction and poetry, sometimes using the pseudonym McLandburgh Wilson.

Early life and education

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McLandburgh was born in Chillicothe, Ohio, and lived in Chicago after 1863,[1] the daughter of Henry McLandburgh and Susan Reynolds McLandburgh.[2] Her older brother John was also a writer.[3] She graduated from Dearborn Female Seminary in 1868.[4]

Career

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McLandburgh's 1873 short story "The Automaton-Ear" is considered an early example of science fiction by an American woman,[5][6] as it concerns an ear trumpet that can replay every sound ever made.[7][8] Her 1876 collection of stories includes other tales with science fiction themes.[1] One reviewer said the collection exhibited McLandburgh's "imaginative power", but that several of the stories were "too fanciful."[9]

Poor health prevented McLandburgh from further fiction writing.[10] Later in life she wrote poetry, often with humorous, patriotic or military themes,[11][12] published in newspapers and magazines under the pseudonym "McLandburgh Wilson."[13][14] She is credited with writing the lines "The optimist sees the doughnut, but the pessimist sees the hole."[15]

Publications

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  • "Possessed" (1871, later revised and retitled "The Feverfew")
  • "Boydell: A Sketch" (1871)[16]
  • "The Christmas Tale of Paint Valley" (1873)[17]
  • "The Automaton-Ear" (1873)[18]
  • The Automaton Ear, and other sketches (1876)[19]
  • "Memorial Day" (1905, poem)[20]
  • "Back to the Land (1906, poem)[21]
  • "A Tale of Dead Love" (1906, poem)[22]
  • "Motherhood's Chant" (1914, poem)
  • "Let the Women Be Heard"
  • "The March of Woman Suffrage"[23]
  • The Little Flag on Main Street (1917, collected poems)[24]
  • "Rheims Cathedral" (1918, poem)[25]
  • "Hot Weather Poem" (1918, poem)[26]

Personal life

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McLandburgh died in 1934, at the age of 83, in Akron, Ohio.[27] Her gravestone in Graceland Cemetery in Chicago is shaped like a book resting on a pillow.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b Sims, Michael (2017-09-05). Frankenstein Dreams: A Connoisseur's Collection of Victorian Science Fiction. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. pp. 99–101. ISBN 978-1-63286-041-5.
  2. ^ 1860 United States federal census, via Ancestry.
  3. ^ Wilson, James Grant; Fiske, John (1888). Appletons' Cyclopaedia of American Biography. D. Appleton. p. 138.
  4. ^ Annual catalogue of the Dearborn Female Seminary, Chicago, for the academic year 1867-68; via Ancestry.
  5. ^ a b Selzer, Adam (2022-08-09). Graceland Cemetery: Chicago Stories, Symbols, and Secrets. University of Illinois Press. pp. 250–251. ISBN 978-0-252-05342-9.
  6. ^ Ashley, Michael (2015-03-18). The Feminine Future: Early Science Fiction by Women Writers. Courier Dover Publications. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-486-79023-7.
  7. ^ "SFE: McLandburgh, Florence". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  8. ^ Scholl, Lesa; Morris, Emily (2022-12-15). The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Victorian Women's Writing. Springer Nature. p. 389. ISBN 978-3-030-78318-1.
  9. ^ "Minor Book Notices". The Literary World: A Monthly Review of Current Literature. 7: 5. June 1876.
  10. ^ Van de Grift, Josephine (1920-07-24). "Poor Health Fails to Check Ambitions of Girl Writer". The Akron Beacon Journal. p. 4. Retrieved 2024-07-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Roberts, Adam (2022-05-12). Classic Science Fiction Stories. Pan Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-5290-6908-2.
  12. ^ Broadhurst, Jean; Rhodes, Clara Lawton (1919). Verse for patriots, to encourage good citizenship. New York Public Library. Philadelphia London : J.B. Lippincott Company.
  13. ^ Wienen, Mark W. Van (2002). Rendezvous with Death: American Poems of the Great War. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-07059-4.
  14. ^ "Items Interesting to the Feminine Sex". The Champaign County News. 1907-05-25. p. 9. Retrieved 2024-07-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "McLandburgh Wilson". Oxford Reference. doi:10.1093/acref/9780191843730.001.0001/q-oro-ed5-00016554 (inactive 1 November 2024). Retrieved 2024-07-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
  16. ^ McLandburgh, Florence (September 1871). "Boydell: A Sketch". The Lakeside Monthly. 6: 270–277.
  17. ^ McLandburgh, Florence. “The Christmas Tale of Paint Valley.” Appleton's 10 (1873): 806-11.
  18. ^ McLandburgh, Florence. "The Automaton Ear" Scribner's Monthly (May 1873).
  19. ^ McLandburgh, Florence. The automaton ear, and other sketches (Chicago: Jansen, McClurg and Co., 1876).
  20. ^ Wilson, Mclandburgh (1905-05-01). "Memorial Day". The Atlantic. ISSN 2151-9463. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  21. ^ Wilson, McLandburgh (1906-12-28). "Back to the Land". The Brandon Union. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-07-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ Wilson, McLandburgh (1906-08-30). "A Tale of Dead Love". Wilkes-Barre Times. p. 5. Retrieved 2024-07-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ Wilson, McLandburgh. "The March of Woman Suffrage". Exhibit, "Women in Politics", University of Montana Library. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  24. ^ "The Little Flag on Main Street". Birmingham Post-Herald. 1918-06-16. p. 32. Retrieved 2024-07-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ "Rheims Cathedral". The Morning Union. 1918-03-28. p. 8. Retrieved 2024-07-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ "Have Your Neighbors Gone?". The Wichita Eagle. 1918-07-08. p. 6. Retrieved 2024-07-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ "Obituary for Florence McLandbnrgh". The Akron Beacon Journal. 1934-06-04. p. 23. Retrieved 2024-07-08 – via Newspapers.com.
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