Mildred Jordan

Mildred Jordan (March 18, 1901 – October 23, 1982) was an American author 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

Plays

Nonfiction works

See also

References

  1. 1 2 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. 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. 1 2 "Mildred Jordan (Bausher) 1901-1982". HGBooks.com. 2005. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  5. 1 2 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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