Howard Pease (September 6, 1894–April 14, 1974) was an American writer of adventure stories from Stockton,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Most of his stories revolved around a young protagonist, Joseph Todhunter ("Tod") Moran, who shipped out on

tramp freighters A boat or ship engaged in the tramp trade is one which does not have a fixed schedule, itinerary nor published Port#Port of call, ports of call, and trades on the spot market as opposed to Freight liner (ship), freight liners. A steamship engaged ...

during the

interwar In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relativel ...

years.

Life

Pease was born in Stockton on September 6, 1894.Find-A-Grave Memorial: Howard Pease (1894-1974)
/ref> For most of his life he resided in the

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, California, area, except for those times when he shipped out as a member of the crew on a freighter, searching for new material. Pease decided to become a writer while in the

sixth grade Sixth grade (or grade six in some regions) is the sixth year of schooling. Students are typically 11–12 years old, depending on when their birthday occurs. Different terms and numbers are used in other parts of the world. It is commonly the firs ...

,Old Children's Books: Howard Pease, by Truman Price
/ref> and he wrote his first short story in 1907 during that school year.OAC: Online Archive of California: Register of the Pease (Howard) Papers, 1907-1973
/ref> He attended

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

, California, interrupted his studies for two years of

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

service in Europe, then returned to graduate. During two summers, he shipped out as a wiper in the

engine room On a ship, the engine room (ER) is the compartment where the machinery for marine propulsion is located. To increase a vessel's safety and chances of surviving damage, the machinery necessary for the ship's operation may be segregated into vari ...

of a

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...

. Peases first published work was a short story that appeared in the June 1921 edition of the childrens magazine ''

The American Boy ''The American Boy'' was a monthly magazine published by The Sprague Publishing Co. of Detroit, Michigan from November 1899 to August 1941. At the time it was the largest magazine for boys, with a circulation of 300,000, and it featured action sto ...

''. He wrote his first novel, ''The Gypsy Caravan'', in the early 1920s, although it was not published until 1930, when it became his fourth published novel. His first published novel was ''The Tattooed Man'', based on two of his voyages and on a walking trip he took along the south coast of France from

Marseilles Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

to Italy; it appeared in 1926, and introduced Tod Moran, a young

merchant mariner A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

who is the protagonist in most of Peases novels, working his way up from wiper to

first mate A chief mate (C/M) or chief officer, usually also synonymous with the first mate or first officer, is a licensed mariner and head of the deck department of a merchant ship. The chief mate is customarily a watchstander and is in charge of the ship ...

as the novels – sometimes referred to as "the Tod Moran mysteries" – progress. Recurring characters in the Tod Moran novels are his friends in the "black gang" (slang for the

crew), Toppy, a

Cockney Cockney is an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners. The term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or b ...

deckhand, and Sven, a Swede, as well as

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Jarvis, master of the freighter ''Araby'' and a father figure to Tod. By the late 1930s, Pease had written ''The Gypsy Caravan, Secret Cargo,'' and eight Tod Moran novels. He wanted to branch out beyond the creative constraints imposed by the Tod Moran series, but his editor at Doubleday insisted that he continue to write Tod Moran books exclusively. In response, he wrote ''Captain Binnacle'' and ''The Long Wharf'', leading her to relent and allow him to write more on topics others than the adventures of Tod Moran. However, he continued the Tod Moran series as well; indeed, the last of his 22 published novels, ''Mystery on Telegraph Hill'', was a Tod Moran mystery published in 1961. In addition to writing children's stories, Pease taught high school

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and in the mid-1940s was the principal at Los Altos Elementary School. He also contributed to journals and reviewed books for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. Pease died in San Rafael, California, on April 14, 1974. He is buried at Stockton Rural Cemetery in Stockton.

Influence

Philip Roth Philip Milton Roth (March 19, 1933 – May 22, 2018) was an American novelist and short story writer. Roth's fiction—often set in his birthplace of Newark, New Jersey—is known for its intensely autobiographical character, for philosophicall ...

Russell Freedman Russell A. Freedman (October 11, 1929 – March 16, 2018) was an American biographer and the author of nearly 50 books for young people. He may be known best for winning the 1988 Newbery Medal with his work '' Lincoln: A Photobiography''. ...

Michael Dirda Michael Dirda (born 1948) is a book critic for the ''Washington Post''. He has been a Fulbright Fellow and won a Pulitzer Prize in 1993. Career Having studied at Oberlin College for his undergraduate degree in 1970, Dirda took an M.A. in 1974 and ...

and

E. L. Doctorow Edgar Lawrence Doctorow (January 6, 1931 – July 21, 2015) was an American novelist, editor, and professor, best known for his works of historical fiction. He wrote twelve novels, three volumes of short fiction and a stage drama. They included ...

all cited Pease's stories as childhood influences. Reflected Dirda: "For a long period also I sought out the work of Howard Pease, old-fashioned nautical adventures teeming with frequent and arcane allusions to

bilge The bilge of a ship or boat is the part of the hull that would rest on the ground if the vessel were unsupported by water. The "turn of the bilge" is the transition from the bottom of a hull to the sides of a hull. Internally, the bilges (us ...

Lascar A lascar was a sailor or militiaman from the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, the Arab world, British Somaliland, or other land east of the Cape of Good Hope, who was employed on European ships from the 16th century until the middle of the 2 ...

s, and fo'csles." Freedman, who won the

Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

and valued realism and accuracy in children's writing, called Pease his "literary hero."

Pease and children's literature

Pease was strongly critical of the 1930s world of

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

(in which he worked) which he stated was a "wholly and solely a woman's world—a completely feminine world" subject to "tender-minded feminine control." Pease believed that this resulted in a paucity of male authors, depressed wages and a lack of realism in children's stories. Pease expounded these views in an address he delivered in 1939 at an

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

"pre-conference" moderated by Frances Clarke Sayers. While the audience of 400 female librarians concurred with Pease that the lack of male authors and of social realism was a problem, his overall

misogynistic Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practiced fo ...

tone offended many and damaged his case. Nevertheless, Pease's speech provoked discussion in the field and led to, among other things, a review of the criteria by which the

winner was selected. Pease remained interested in the question of realism in children's literature and corresponded with other authors on the topic, including noted librarian

Julia Sauer Julia Sauer (April 8, 1891 – June 26, 1983) was an American writer of children's fiction and librarian. Two of her books, '' Fog Magic'' and '' The Light at Tern Rock'' were among the annual Newbery Medal runners-up. Both are set in Canada, whe ...

. In a reversal, a modern critic took Pease to task for creating "traditional" male heroes who were "brave, clever and independent."O'Keefe (2000), 43-44.

Awards

Pease received two literary awards during his life. In 1944, he received the California Commonwealth Book Award for his novel ''Thunderbolt House'', published that year, and in 1946 he was awarded the

Children's Book Award Children's Book Award is a generic term that has been applied to: * Caldecott Medal, Caldecott Medal, annual "most distinguished American picture book for children" * Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award from the Vermont Department of Lib ...

(now the

Bank Street College of Education Bank Street College of Education is a private school and graduate school in New York City. It consists of a graduate-only teacher training college and an independent nursery-through-8th-grade school. In 2020 the graduate school had about 65 full ...

, Children's Book Committee's Josette Frank Award) from the Child Study Association of America "for a book that deals realistically with problems in the childs world" for his novel ''Heart of Danger'' of that year.

Papers

Pease's papers are held at the University of the Pacific in

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. Stockton was founded by Carlos Maria Weber in 1849 after he acquir ...

Bibliography

*''The Tattooed Man'' (1926) – "A fantastic cook adds to the excitement of Tod Moran's trip on a freighter from San Francisco to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

" (from the series' dust jacket). *''The Jinx Ship'' (1927) – The

tramp steamer A boat or ship engaged in the tramp trade is one which does not have a fixed schedule, itinerary nor published ports of call, and trades on the spot market as opposed to freight liners. A steamship engaged in the tramp trade is sometimes called ...

''Congo'' lives up to her sinister reputation when Tod Moran defies sailor superstition to ship as a wiper. *''Shanghai Passage'' (1929) – Mutiny, mystery, and revolution on a tramp steamer bound for the China coast. (Tod Moran Mystery) *''The Gypsy Caravan'' (1930) - Betty and Joe meet adventure while traveling with

gypsies The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

and meet

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...

Richard the Lionhearted Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overl ...

Roland Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...

, and other legendary and historical figures along the way *''Secret Cargo'' (1931) - The Story of Larry Matthews and his dog Sambo, *''The Ship Without a Crew'' (1934) - Mystery in the South Pacific (Tod Moran Mystery) *''Wind in the Rigging'' (1935) - An Adventurous Voyage of Tod Moran on the Tramp Steamer "Sumatra" New York to North Africa *''Hurricane Weather'' (1936) - Tod Moran goes on a sailing vacation in the South Pacific, semi-sequel to The Ship Without a Crew *''Foghorns'' (1937) - A Story of the San Francisco Waterfront (Tod Moran Mystery) *''Captain Binnacle'' (1938) - Three children and an old sea captain put their imaginations to work for pretend adventures aboard the stranded vessel on which the sea captain makes his home *''Jungle River'' (1938) - Don Carter searches for his father in the jungle of New Guinea *''Highroad to Adventure'' (1939) - "What Happened to Tod Moran when he Traveled South into Old Mexico" *''Long Wharf'' (1939) - "A Story of Young San Francisco" *''The Black Tanker'' (1941) - "The Adventures of a Landlubber on the Ill-fated Last Voyage of the Oil Tank Steamer ZAMBORA" (A Tod Moran Mystery) *''Night Boat'' (1942) - A collection of Tod Moran short stories originally published in magazines. *''Thunderbolt House'' (1944) - A mystery set in San Francisco in 1905, semi-sequel to Long Wharf *''Heart of Danger'' (1946) - Tod Moran's adventures in Nazi occupied France. *''Bound for Singapore'' (1948)- "Being A True And Faithful Account Of The Making Of An Adventurer" *''Dark Adventure'' (1950)- Johnny Stevens gets amnesia while hitchhiking - minor-character overlap with Highroad to Adventure *''Captain of the'' Araby (1953) - Tod Moran returns to the South Pacific *''Shipwreck'' (1957) -"The Strange Adventures of Renny Mitchum, Mess Boy of the Trading Schooner SAMARANG" *''Mystery on Telegraph Hill'' (1961) - A Tod Moran Mystery set on the foggy hills of San Francisco

Notes

References

* * * * * * * *

External links

Register of the Pease (Howard) Papers, 1907-1973Photos of Howard Pease and of his gravestone at Find-A-Grave
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pease, Howard 1894 births 1974 deaths American adventure novelists American children's writers American mystery novelists American male novelists 20th-century American novelists Writers from the San Francisco Bay Area Writers from Stockton, California Stanford University alumni Burials in California American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers