20th-Century American Bestsellers

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ResearcherAuthor: Title
Mary RekasPorter, Eleanor H.: Mary-Marie
Assignment 1: Bibliographic Description
1. First Edition Publication InformationPublished by Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston and New York, The Riverside Press Cambridge, 1920.
First edition published in hardback only. A paperback first edition was not published at the time.
2. First Edition in Cloth, Paper, or Both?First hardback edition published in dark green cloth.
3. Image of Cover Art A1319980203000058.jpg
4. Pagination296 pages, 318 pages total (first three and last four pages blank), 159

leaves. Frontispiece and plates facing pages 68, 164, and 248.
5. Edited and/or Introduced? No.
6. Illustrated? Illustrated by Helen Mason Grose.
7. Sample IllustrationA1719980203000058.jpg
8. General AppearanceThe book is still in good condition. Mary Marieís type is large, and easy to read. The bookís layout is simple, with one

the title of the book on even pages and the chapter title on odd pages. Mary Marie has relatively small pages (20 cm) and a serif font.
9. Image of Sample Chapter PageA1919980203000058.jpg
10. Description of PaperThe paper of the book is in good condition, if slightly yellowed. The pages are heavyweig

ht and not eroded or moldy. The left and right margin is about one inch, and the bottom margin is one inch-and-a-half.
11. Description of BindingMary Marieís cloth binding is dark green with gold lettering. The binding is broken, and not attached to the pages of the book. How

ever, the binding is not cracked. The binding and the cover are glued, not stitched. The title on the cover is enclosed in a oval-like design, with the authorís name underneath in capital letters. The binding includes the title of the book, the authorís

name, and the publisherís name, top to bottom, respectively.
12. Title Page Transcription
MARY MARIE

BY
ELEANOR H. PORTER

With illustrations
by Helen Mason Grose

(an oval decoration with a faun playing a lute, with the words ìTOUT BIEN OU BIENî inscribed)


BOSTON AND NEW YORK
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
The Riverside Press Cambridge
1920
13. Image of Title PageA11319980203000058.jpg
14. Manuscript HoldingsNo manuscript holdings found. Galley sheets in the Barrett Collections, Special Collections, Alderman Library, University of Virginia. Several other Porter writings, letters, etc. are available in the Barrett Coll

ection.

15. OtherThe book's dedications page reads as follows:
TO MY FRIEND
ELIZABETH S. BOWEN

The table of contents lists the preface and the nine chapters. The next page lists the four illustrations.
Chapter titles:
CONTENTS

Preface, Which Explains Things 1
I. I am Born 7
II. Nurse Sarah's Story 18
III. The Break is Made 26
IV. When I am Marie 41
V. When I am Mary 70
VI. When I am Both Together 145
VII. When I am Neither One 190
VIII. Which is the Real Love Story 215
IX. Which is the Test 253

ILLUSTRATIONS

"If I consulted no one's wishes but my own, I should keep her here always" Frontispiece
"I told her not to worry a bit about me" 68
"Why must you wait, darling?" 164
Then I told him my idea 248

From drawings by Helen Mason Grose


The back of the first edition examined has part of a book cover apparently glued to the cover, that stuck to the cloth binding when the cover was removed. The portion of the cover on the book seems to be showing acclaim for the book.
Assignment 2: Publication History
1. Other Editions: Unknown. Pending more information from Houghton Library, Harvard University, which has Houghton Mifflin's old records. In a Worldcat, Books in Print, Books-

out-of Print, and Virgo search, all other editions were issued by other publishers after the first edition.
2. Image of Cover Art A2219980304142120.jpg
3. Sample IllustrationA2319980304142120.jpg
4. First Edition printings or impressions?Houghton Mifflin produced 100,000 copies of the first edition.

Source: Publisher's Weekly advertisement, May 15, 1920, Volume 97, # 20, p. 1594.
5. Editions from other publishers?Constable, London, 1920.
Information found in Dictionary of American Biography, American Novelists 1910-1945, Volume 9.

New York, Grosset & Dunlap, 1920
Physical description: 5 p. L., 296 p., 1 L. front., plates. 20 cm.

New York City The Christian Hearld Bible House and Crowell Pub. Co., 1920.
Physical description: 296 p. fronts, plates. 20 cm.
"Special Edition" appears on title page.

Buccaneer Books, Incorporated, 1976.

Sources: Worldcat, Books in Print.
6. Last date in print? 1976--may still be copies selling.
7. Total copies sold? Unknown. Pending information from the publisher(s).
8. Sales by year?Unknown. Pending information from the publisher(s).
9. Advertising copy: In Houghton Mifflin's "Spring Fiction" advertisement, Publisher's Weekl

y, May 15, 1920, Volume 97, # 20, p. 1594:

SPRING FICTION


MARY MARIE
Eleanor H. Porter
Gay, lively, lovable, Mary Marie, the sunbeam girl, will dance her way into the hearts of thousands of American grown-ups and children. First Edition of 100,000 copies. Illus. $1.90 net.

In another Houghton Mifflin advertisement:
High Lights on the May List of
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
To Stimulate Sales Just Bring Together
THESE BOOKS and THESE PEOPLE

Eleanor H. Porter
MARY MARIE
$1.90 net--May 7

Everyone who has enjoyed JUST DAVID, POLLYANNA, or Mrs. Porter's other books, plus new readers who will be attracted by her clever handling of the divorce-problem.
(The book title, author, and price is under the "THESE BOOKS" heading and the decription of the book is under the "THESE PEOPLE" statement ).
Publisher's Weekly, May 1, 1920, Vol. 97, # 18, p. 1368.
10. Image of sample advertisementA21019980219180119.jpg
11. Other promotion? These are some indirect promotions for Mary Marie.

Publisher's Weekly, May 8, 1920, Vol. 97, #19; Mary Marie is listed under the New Fiction section, which has short descriptions of the new fiction published that week.
Transcription:

Porter; Eleanor Stuart, pseud.]
Mary Marie; with il. by Helen Mason Grose. 296 p. pls. D c. Bost., Houghton Mifflin $1.90 n.
Novel in the form of a diary represented as being kept by a little girl of thirteen who is to spend six months alternately with each parent as the result of a divorce but who succeeds in bringing her parents together.

Publisher's Weekly, May 15, 1920, Vol. 97, #20;
An excerpt from Mary Marie is featured in the article "Pleasant Paths in Summer Fiction", with a sample illustration from the book (see assignment one, #7). The excerpt is from the first few pages of the book.

12. Performances in other media? Unknown.

13. Translations? N/A
14. Serialization? Woman's Home Companion 47: 7-11, February; 23-6, March; 32-4, April 1920
15. Sequels or Prequels? N/A (Eleanor H. Porter died May 21, 1920, in the same month her book came out).
Assignment 3: Brief Biography
Eleanor H. Porter, an author best known for writing Pollyanna, wrote sentimental short stories and several best-selling novels in the early twentieth century. Pollyanna inspired readers around the world, and "Pollyanna" later became a synonym for a “fatuous, irrepressible optimist.” But before beginning her life as a novelist, Porter contributed more than 200 stories to magazines and newspapers. Porter was born Eleanor Hodgeman, daughter of Francis H. Hodgeman and Llewella (Woolson) Hodgeman, in Littleton, New Hampshire on December 19, 1868. Llewella Hodgeman was an invalid for many years, and her daughter also had poor health. Porter left high school and enjoyed an outdoor life until her improved health allowed her to attend the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where she developed her singing talent. For many years, Porter sang in concerts and church choirs, and also taught music. On May 3, 1892, the 24-year-old married John Lyman Porter, of Corinth, Vermont. After marrying, Porter lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts with her husband. The couple had no children.

Porter’s first short story was published in 1900, and Porter became a writer full-time in 1901. Porter used the pseudonym Eleanor Stewart (many sources spell it “Stuart”) in her early short stories, which were published in popular women’s magazines. At the age of 38, she published her first novel, Cross Currents, in 1907, followed by the sequel, The Turn of the Tide one year later. Porter published 13 more novels in her career which sold well and garnered reprintings. Besides Pollyanna, Just David (1916) and Miss Billy (1911), were also best-sellers. But all of her novels’ selling power did not compare to Pollyanna’s international success. The book was first published as a serial in the Christian Herald and then as a novel in 1913 by L. C. Paige Publishers. The book, and later the movie, featured a heroine who cheers the stodgy characters of a New England town with her “glad game.” The game and her message of gladness sparked a number of Pollyanna clubs across America. The best-selling sequel, Pollyanna Grows Up, continues the heroine’s adventures in Boston.

Some of Porter’s manuscripts and letters are held at the Barrett Library in Special Collections at the University of Virginia. A thorough search of her manuscripts yields no editor, but she did write several letters to Houghton Mifflin publishers Ferris Greenslet and Roger L. Scaife (Director of the company) about her work. In her notes, under “Literary Agents”, Porter scribbled the names “Miss Galbraith Welch, NY” and “Curtis Brown, London.” It is not clear if they were her agents. No other information about editors and agents was found. Porter died in her home in Cambridge, Massachusetts on May 21, 1920, presumably of old age at 52, just weeks after Houghton Mifflin Co. published Mary Marie. Her will made her husband the executor of her estate. In all, Porter wrote 17 novels and published seven short story collections. Throughout her most popular novels, Porter mixed optimism and sentimentality with success. “I have never believed that we ought to deny discomfort and pain and evil: I have merely thought that it is far better to ‘greet the unknown with a cheer,’” she said (Kunitz and Haycroft, ed. Twentieth Century Authors: A Biographical Dictionary, 1942). See supplementary materials for a list of books Eleanor H. Porter wrote.
Assignment 4
Contemporary Reception:

Contemporary Reception History



Short Reviews/mentions (60 words or less):“Porter, Mrs Eleanor (Hodgeman).”Booklist, Vol. 16, No. 10, 1 June 1920: 350.

The Times [London] Literary Supplement, 30 Sept. 1920:637.

Rev. of Mary Marie, by Eleanor H. Porter. The Spectator Supplement 3 Dec. 1920:782; Quoted in Book Review Digest
1920, 433-434, Vol. 9, New York: H.W. Wilson and Company, 1921.
Long Reviews (more than 60 words):

“Mary Marie.” Rev. of Mary Marie, by Eleanor H. Porter. New York Times Book Review 4 July 1920:26,28.

Rev. of Mary Marie, by Eleanor H. Porter. Boston Transcript, 29 May 1920:8; Quoted in Book Review Digest
1920, 433-434, Vol. 9, New York: H.W. Wilson and Company, 1921.

Rev. of Mary Marie, by Eleanor H. Porter. The Springfield Republican 11 July 1920:11a; Quoted in Book Review Digest
1920, 433-434, Vol. 9, New York: H.W. Wilson and Company, 1921.
Summary of Mary Marie’s Contemporary Reception History


Book reviews of Eleanor H. Porter’s Mary Marie were generally positive about the novel. “The book is very readable, and occasionally amusing,” said one critic in an early Boston Transcript Review.

Mary Marie also charmed the New York Times Book Review and Springfield Republican critics with her first person narrative. “Beneath the light tone of the narrative may be observed a serious moral...but Mary Marie will be loved for herself alone,” wrote the Springfield Republican critic. The Times Book Review critic notes that Mary Marie grows to face the same problem of divorce as her parents: “But no matter at what age she is considered, Mary Marie is always charming,” he wrote. “So is the book.”

One review dared to disagree with Mary Marie’s positive receptions. A London Spectator critic wrote, “The story falls short of what we expect from Miss Eleanor H. Porter.”

Although many positive reviews acknowledged the sentimentality of the book (written, as one London Times critic said, in “this American author’s usual sprightly, gushing manner.”), the reviewers didn't sour on Mary Marie's sweetness.
Subsequent Reception:

Subsequent Reception History


N/A: No subsequent history found.

Assignment 5
Electronic Edition: Table of Contents
Supplementary Materials
List Of Eleanor H. Porter's Books from the Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 9: American Novelists 1910-1945.

Cross Currents (Boston: Wilde. 1907; London: Harrap, 1928)
The Turn of the Tide (Boston: Wilde. 1908; London: Harrap, 1928)
The Story of Marco (Cincinnati: Jennings & Graham, 1911; London: Stanley Paul, 1920)
Miss Billy (Boston: Page, 1911; London: Stanley Paul, 1914)
Miss Billy’s Decision ( Boston: Page, 1912; London: Stanley Paul, 1915)
Pollyanna (Boston: Page, 1913; London: Pitman, 1913)
The Sunbridge Girls at Six-Star Ranch (Boston: Page, 1913)
Miss Billy married (Boston: page, 1914; London: Stanley Paul, 1915)
Pollyanna Grows Up (Boston: Page 1914; London: Pitman, 1915)
Just David (Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1916; London: Constable, 1916)
Six-Star Ranch (Boston: Page, 1916; London: Stanley Paul, 1916)
The Road to Understanding (Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1917; London: Constable, 1917)
Oh, Money! Money (Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1919; London: Constable, 1919)
Dawn (Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1919); republished as Keith’s Dark Tower (London: Constable, 1919)
The Tie That Binds: Tales of Love and Marriage (Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1919)
Mary Marie (Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1920; London: Constable, 1920)
Sister Sue (Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1921; London: Constable, 1921)
Money, Love, and Kate (New York: Doran, 1923; London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1924)
Across the Years: Tales of Age (New York: Doran, 1924)
Hustler Joe and Other Stories (New York: Doran, 1924)
Little Pardner and Other Stories ( New York: Doran, 1926; London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1927)
Just Mother and Other Stories (New York: Doran, 1927)
The Fortunate Mary (Garden City: Doubleday, Doran, 1928)

Other authors continued the Pollyanna series.
Titles included: Pollyanna of the Orange Blossoms, Pollyanna’s Jewels, Pollyanna’s Debt of Honor and Pollyanna’s Western Adventure (1924-1929, by Harriet Lummis Smith); Pollyanna in Hollywood, Pollyanna’s Castle in Mexico, Pollyanna’s Door to Happiness an

d Pollyanna’s Golden Horseshoe (by Elizabeth Borton); Pollyanna’s Protégé (by Margaret Piper Chalmers); and Pollyanna at Six Star Ranch (by Virginia May Moffit).

Bestsellers
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