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Alice Hegan Rice, also known as Alice Caldwell Hegan, (January 11, 1870 – February 10, 1942) was an American
novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...
. Her 1901 novel Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch became a play and four films.


Biography

Alice Caldwell Hegan was born on January 11, 1870, in
Shelbyville, Kentucky Shelbyville is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city in and the county seat of Shelby County, Kentucky, Shelby County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 14,045 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. History Early hist ...
, to Samuel Watson Hegan and Sallie P. Hegan. Her father was an art dealer so she was born with a knack for creativity. As a child, she would entertain her family members with creative stories that she came up with on the spot. When she was in school, writing was obviously her strongest subject. She was so good at writing that she had a submission that was published by the newspaper at the age of 15. Rice had a relatively privileged upbringing, but her views on life changed when she went to a mission for Sunday School that was in a slum in Louisville called the “Cabbage Patch”. The mission was interrupted by a group of troublesome boys, but luckily Rice was able to defuse the situation by enticing them with a story she just read. For the rest of the mission she continued to tell them crazy stories about gangsters and pirates. This experience introduced her to the world of poverty and the underprivileged. She would later use this new-found knowledge and go on to create her most widely known novel, '' Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch''. Several of Alice Rice's earlier works were translated into German, French,
Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
, and
Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
, and three (''Mrs. Wiggs'', ''Mr. Opp'', and the ''Romance of Billy-Goat Hill'') were dramatized. Alice married 
Cale Young Rice Cale Young Rice (December 7, 1872 – January 24, 1943) was an American poet and Playwdramatist. He was professor of English at Cumberland University. His opera, ''Yolanda of Cyprus,'' was widely received. Life and career Rice was born in Dixon, ...
, who was a poet and playwright, on December 18, 1902. They spent most of their life traveling the world and becoming known in the literary scenes of New York and London. She later became a part of a social movement that would help improve the working and living conditions of the poor, which would bring her to helping found the Cabbage Patch Settlement House in Louisville in 1910. After living a life full of helping and writing about others, she died on February 10, 1942 at her home in Louisville, Kentucky. She was buried in
Cave Hill Cemetery Cave Hill Cemetery is a Victorian era National Cemetery and arboretum located at Louisville, Kentucky. Its main entrance is on Baxter Avenue and there is a secondary one on Grinstead Drive. It is the largest cemetery by area and number of buri ...
in Louisville.


List of works

* '' Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch'' (1901) * ''Lovey Mary'' (1903) * '' Sandy'' (1905) * ''Captain June'' (1907) * ''Mr. Opp'' (1909) * ''A Romance of Billy-Goat Hill'' (1912) * ''The Honorable Percival'' (1914) * ''Calvary Alley'' (1917) * ''Miss Mink's Soldier and Other Stories'' (1918) * ''Turn About Tales'' (with Cale Young Rice) (1920) * ''Quin'' (1921) * ''Winners and Losers'' (with Cale Young Rice) (1925) * ''The Buffer'' (1929) * ''Mr. Pete & Co. '' (1933) * ''The Lark Legacy'' (1935) * ''Passionate Follies'' (1936) * ''My Pillow Book'' (1937) * ''Our Ernie'' (1939) * ''The Inky Way'' (1940) * ''Happiness Road'' (1942) (posthumous)


Filmography

*'' Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch'' (dir. Harold Entwistle, 1914) *''A Romance of Billy-Goat Hill'' (dir.
Lynn Reynolds Lynn Fairfield Reynolds (May 7, 1889 – February 25, 1927) was an American director and screenwriter. Reynolds directed more than 80 films between 1915 and 1928. He also wrote for 58 films between 1914 and 1927. Reynolds was born in Harlan, ...
, 1916) *''Mr. Opp'' (dir.
Lynn Reynolds Lynn Fairfield Reynolds (May 7, 1889 – February 25, 1927) was an American director and screenwriter. Reynolds directed more than 80 films between 1915 and 1928. He also wrote for 58 films between 1914 and 1927. Reynolds was born in Harlan, ...
, 1917) *''
Sunshine Nan ''Sunshine Nan'' is a surviving 1918 American silent comedy-drama film starring Ann Pennington and directed by Charles Giblyn. It is based on the novel ''Calvary Alley'' by Alice Hegan Rice. It was produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distribut ...
'' (dir.
Charles Giblyn Charles Giblyn (September 6, 1871 – March 14, 1934) was an American film director and actor of the silent era. He directed nearly 100 films between 1912 and 1927. He also appeared in 23 films between 1914 and 1934. He was one of the foun ...
, 1918) *'' Sandy'' (dir.
George Melford George H. Melford (born George Henry Knauff, February 19, 1877 – April 25, 1961) was an American stage and film actor and director. Often taken for granted as a director today, the stalwart Melford's name by the 1920s was, like Cecil B. DeMil ...
, 1918) *'' Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch'' (dir. Hugh Ford, 1919) *''
Lovey Mary ''Lovey Mary'' is a 1926 American comedy-drama film directed by King Baggot, with Bessie Love in the title role. It is based on the Lovey Mary (book), 1903 novel of the same name by Alice Hegan Rice, a sequel to Rice's ''Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabba ...
'' (dir.
King Baggot William King Baggot (November 7, 1879 – July 11, 1948) was an American actor, film director and screenwriter. He was an internationally famous movie star of the silent film era. The first individually publicized leading man in America, B ...
, 1926) *'' Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch'' (dir.
Norman Taurog Norman Rae Taurog (February 23, 1899 – April 7, 1981) was an American film director and screenwriter. From 1920 to 1968, Taurog directed 180 films. At the age of 32, he received the Academy Award for Best Director for '' Skippy'' (1931). He i ...
, 1934) *'' Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch'' (dir.
Ralph Murphy Ralph Murphy (May 1, 1895 – February 10, 1967) was an American film and television director. Born in Rockville, Connecticut, Murphy was active in films from 1931 through 1962, with some work in television. From 1941 to 1944 he was married to ...
, 1942)


References


Further reading

*


External links


Guide to the JAlice Caldwell Hegan Rice letters, 1925-1929; undated
housed at the University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center *
Alice Hegan Rice in The Literature Network

Alice Hegan Rice in "Old Louisville in Literature
* * * * * * - Brief biographical information * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rice, Alice Hegan 20th-century American novelists American women novelists Writers from Louisville, Kentucky 1870 births 1942 deaths Burials at Cave Hill Cemetery 20th-century American women writers People from Shelbyville, Kentucky American women short story writers 20th-century short story writers Novelists from Kentucky Kentucky women writers