Edith Ogden Harrison (16 November 1862 – 22 May 1955) was a writer of
children's books
A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younge ...
and
fairy tales in the early decades of the 20th century. She was the wife of
Carter Harrison, Jr.
Carter Henry Harrison IV (April 23, 1860 – December 25, 1953) was an American newspaper publisher and Democratic politician who served a total of five terms as mayor of Chicago (1897–1905 and 1911–1915) but failed in his attempt to becom ...
, five-term
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
of
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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.
Biography
Edith Ogden was born to
Robert N. Ogden, Jr. and Sarah L Beattie,
[Wheeler, William Ogden, Lawrence Van Alstyne, and Charles Burr Ogden. 1907. ''The Ogden family in America, Elizabethtown branch, and their English ancestry; John Ogden, the Pilgrim, and his descendants,'' 1640-1906. Philadelphia: Printed for private circulation by J.B. Lippincott Co. pp 468-70]
/ref> and raised in , Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
; she was a "belle of cultured, aristocratic habits who acquitted herself well in the parlors of the Potter Palmer
Potter Palmer (May 20, 1826 – May 4, 1902) was an American businessman who was responsible for much of the development of State Street in Chicago. Born in Albany County, New York,[Marshall Field
Marshall Field (August 18, 1834January 16, 1906) was an American entrepreneur and the founder of Marshall Field and Company, the Chicago-based department stores. His business was renowned for its then-exceptional level of quality and customer ...]
s" and other Chicago notables. She married Carter Harrison on December 14, 1887. Their first child died in infancy in 1889; they had two surviving children, Carter Henry Harrison V, born June 28, 1891, and Edith Ogden Harrison II, born January 21, 1896. (Their son was the fifth of that name because his father was, formally, Carter Henry Harrison IV. He was known in his political career as "Junior" because his father, Carter Henry Harrison III, had preceded him in office and had been one of Chicago's most famous mayors. Confusion arises when "Junior" is erroneously referred to as "Carter Harrison II.") The couple celebrated the fiftieth wedding anniversary in 1937.
In the first phase of her literary career, Edith O. Harrison concentrated on children's literature; later she wrote travel books and autobiographical works. Her early book '' Prince Silverwings'' was adapted by family acquaintance L. Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's books, particularly ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and its sequels. He wrote 14 novels in the ''Oz'' series, plus 41 other novels (not includ ...
for a dramatization that never made it to the stage. (All Chicago theaters were closed after the Iroquois Theater fire on 30 December 1903 caused 570 fatalities.) In the process, influences from Harrison's book appear to have found their way into Baum's works.
She did not abandon her theatrical ambitions: over a number of years Harrison and Baum tried to establish a children's theater in Chicago. They were still working on the project as late as 1915, but without success.
Harrison's 1912 novel ''The Lady of the Snows'' was made into a film of the same title in 1915.
Works
* '' Prince Silverwings and other fairy tales'', illustrated by Lucy Fitch Perkins ( A. C. McClurg, 1902)
* ''The Star Fairies and other fairy tales'', illus. Perkins (1903)
* ''The Moon Princess, a fairy tale'', illus. Perkins (1905)
* ''The Flaming Sword and other legends of the earth and sky'', illus. Perkins (1908)
* ''Ladder of Moonlight; Cotton Myth'', illus. Perkins (McClurg, 1909) – Biblical stories retold for children
* ''The Mocking-bird; Sunrise and Sunset'', illus. Perkins (McClurg, 1909) – Biblical stories retold for children
* ''Polar Star; Aurora Borealis'', illus. Perkins (McClurg, 1909) – Biblical stories retold for children
* ''Princess Sayrane: a romance of the days of Prester John'', illus. Harold H. Betts (1910)
* ''The Glittering Festival'', illus. Clara Powers Wilson (1911)
* ''The Lady of the Snows'', illus. J. Allen St. John (1912)
* ''The Enchanted House and other fairy stories '', illus. Frederick Richardson
Frederick Richardson (1862 – 15 January 1937) was an American illustrator of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, best remembered for his illustrations of works by L. Frank Baum.
Life and career
A native Chicagoan, Richards ...
(1913)
* ''Clemencia's Crisis'', illus. Fred J. Arting (1915)
* ''Below the Equator: the story of a tour through the countries of South America'' (McClurg, 1918)
* ''All the Way 'Round: the story of a fourteen months' trip around the world'' (1922)
* ''Lands of the Sun: Impressions of a visit to tropical lands'' (McClurg, 1925)
* ''Gray Moss'' (Chicago: Ralph Fletcher Seymour Publisher, 1929)
* ''The Scarlet Riders'' (Seymour, 1930)
* ''"Strange to Say": Recollections of persons and events in New Orleans and Chicago'' (Chicago: A. Kroch, 1949)
Written by husband Carter H. Harrison
* ''Stormy Years: the autobiography of Carter H. Harrison, five times mayor of Chicago'', illus. Edith Ogden Harrison (Bobbs-Merrill, 1935),
* ''Growing up with Chicago'' (Seymour, 1944) – sequel to ''Stormy Years''
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Edith Ogden
20th-century American novelists
American children's writers
American fantasy writers
American women novelists
1862 births
1955 deaths
American women children's writers
Women science fiction and fantasy writers
20th-century American women writers
Harrison family of Virginia