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Bernard Gay Marshall
BornNorth Easton, Massachusetts
OccupationAuthor
NationalityAmerican
GenreHistorical Fiction
Notable worksCedric the Forrester

Bernard G. Marshall, 1875-1945, was an American writer. His historical novel Cedric the Forester was named a Newbery Honor book in 1922.

Life[edit]

Bernard Gay Marshall was born in North Easton, Massachusetts on August 23, 1875, to Francis F. and Helen F. Doten Marshall. Marshall attended high school in North Easton. Wanting to be a writer, he "thought he could play in orchestras and make a living until he had a foothold as an author".[1] He subsequently worked as a musician, legal stenographer, an advertising and technical writer, and as a ship builder during World War I.[1]: 245  In July of 1903 Marshall married Ida M. Conklin. The couple had one daughter, Harriet C.[2]

Marshall wrote five historical fiction novels, a "series of romances dealing with the great periods of the Anglo-Saxon struggle for freedom."[3] The books are set in time periods ranging from the England of King Arthur to Andrew Jackson's United States. He also wrote short stories and articles for magazines, including Sunset, Boys' Life, St. Nicholas, Munsey's Magazine, The American Magazine and The American Boy.[4][a] In addition, he wrote for technical magazines and edited several trade journals. By 1921 Marshall had moved to Berkeley, California,[1] where he was a member of the San Francisco chapter of the Writer's Dinner Club.[4]

Bernard Gay Marshall died Dec. 14, 1945.

Critical reception[edit]

As a writer of historical fiction, Marshall's books were compared to Walter Scott's. According to one review, "Marshall matches Scott in length and detailed description",[5] though another added that to call Cedric the Forester a second Ivanhoe was "a mistake", adding "Bernard Marshall has done a good piece of work, but he is not Sir Walter".[6]: 519 

Marshall's novels were widely read,[1]: 242–243  and reviewed for both children and adults. His first book, Cedric the Forester, received one of the inaugural Newbery Honor awards in 1922, for "the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children".[7][b] The American Boy issued part of his first book under the title "Churl and Overlord".[6] Cedric the Forester was referred to as a "well-written and informing story for boys",[5] and the scouting magazine Boys' Life reviewed his novels for its young readers.[8]

Marshall's novels were also well received by adults. Walter of Tiverton received a star from The Bookman, which reviewed it as a book for adults,[9] as did The Outlook, calling it a "spirited romance".[10] The Saturday Review praised Redcoat and the Minuteman for the "clean, clear simplicity of his narrative",[11]: 618  saying the plot was "skilfully handled".[11]: 620 

Books[edit]

  • Cedric the Forester, ill. by J. Scott Williams, D. Appleton, 1921, 318 pages.

Cedric the Forester was a Newbery Honor book.[7] When Saxon yeoman Cedric of Pellham Woods saves the life of Norman nobleman Dickon Mountjoy, he is made a squire, and a friendship begins between the two. Eventually Cedric becomes the best crossbowman in England, and is knighted. He then becomes instrumental in the establishment of the Magna Carta. The frequency of deaths in Cedric the Forester sometimes drew criticism.[6]: 519 

  • Walter of Tiverton, illustrated by J. Scott Williams, D. Appleton, 1923, 263 pages.

Two young knights, Walter of Tiverton and Sir Boris Delamar, find adventure in England during the time of Richard the Lionheart. They are often helped by the mysterious Knight of Ascalon, who always disappears before they can thank him.

  • The Torch Bearers: A Tale of Cavalier Days, illustrated by J. Scott Williams, D. Appleton, 1923, 317 pages.

Myles Delaroche, a descendant of Cedric the Forester, is an English Puritan, though his friend Arthur Hinsdale is a Royalist. The two men find their friendship tested by the English Civil War. The story portrays both sides of the struggle with understanding and sympathy. At one point Delaroche "saw that no peace would be durable, on whatever victories founded, if those who triumphed sought to impose their sway upon the nation and to forbid all forms of worship save their own."[12] Eventually Delaroche leaves England for the United States, allowing the series to continue there.

  • Redcoat and Minuteman, illustrated by J. Scott Williams, D. Appleton, 1924, 277 pages.

Set during the American Revolution, this book tells the story of another Delaroche, Richard, who leaves Harvard to join the intelligence branch of the Minutemen. Delaroche encounters George Washington and Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, is mistaken for a loyalist, and takes part in the Battle of Bunker Hill.

  • Old Hickory's Prisoner: A Tale of the Second War for Independence, D. Appleton, 1925, 254 pages.

The United States is now involved in the War of 1812 and Hubert Delaroche is too young to join the army, so he volunteers as a messenger. He is present as Commodore Decatur attempts to run a British blockade. They don't succeed, and Delaroche is forced to escape through the Cumberland Mountains to Tennessee, where he joins Andrew Jackson's army, and makes a new friend, a Shawnee named Blue Feather.

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Marshall may have sometimes used the pen name Robert Wingate.
  2. ^ As Parravano, "Alive and Vigorous", The Horn Book, 1999, July/August, says, this is not the last time the Newbery has honored a book originally published for adults.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Overton, Grant (2004). Cargoes for Crusoes. Kessinger Publishing: 244 . ISBN 9781417915866.{{rp}244}}
  2. ^ Who was Who Among North American Authors, 1921-1939 vol. 2. Gale Research. 1976. p. 969. ISBN 9780810310414.
  3. ^ New York State Library (1919). Biliography Bulletin. 64–80: 24. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ^ a b Who's Who Among North American Authors. Gale Research. 1935. p. 1065.
  5. ^ a b "Books for Boys and Girls". The Unitarian Register. 100: 1238. December 29. Retrieved June 14, 2012. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
  6. ^ a b c Jordan, Alice M (1921). "Reviews for Children's Book Week". Libraries: A Monthly Review of Library Matters and Methods. 26: 519. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
  7. ^ a b "Newbery Awards". Retrieved 5/15/2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  8. ^ "Fifteen $ for You". Boys' Life: 51. November 1925.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  9. ^ "The Bookman's Guide to Fiction". The Bookman: 638. August 1893. Retrieved June 14, 2012.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  10. ^ "The Book Table: The New Books". The Outlook: 193. June 13, 1923. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
  11. ^ a b "The New Books". The Saturday Review. March 21, 1925.
  12. ^ Marshall, Bernard G (1923). The Torch Bearers: A Tale of Cavalier Days. D. Appleton.

External links[edit]

  • Letter to the Editor "Points of View: Bermuda". The Saturday Review: 316. November 21, 1931. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
  • Cedric the Forrester at Project Gutenberg. Marshall, Bernard G. "Cedric the Forrester". Project Gutenberg. Retrieved 2012/6/11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  • "The Prize Winner: The Trials and Triumphs of Raymond Jones, Chicken Fancier" Marshall, Bernard G (December 1921). "The Prize Winner". Munsey's Magazine. LXXIV (3): 444–450. Retrieved June 6, 2012.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)



{{DEFAULTSORT:Marshall, Bernard Gay}} [[Category:1875 births]] [[Category:1945 deaths]] [[Category:People from Massachusetts]] [[Category:American historical novelists]] [[Category:Newbery Honor winners]]

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