John Dennis Fitzgerald (February 3, 1906 – May 30, 1988) was an American author, most notable for

The Great Brain ''The Great Brain'' is a series of children's books by United States, American author John D. Fitzgerald, John Dennis Fitzgerald (1906–1988). Set in the small town of Adenville, Utah, between 1896 and 1898, the stories are loosely based on Fitz ...

series of children's books.

Biography

Fitzgerald was born in

Price A price is the (usually not negative) quantity of payment or compensation given by one party to another in return for goods or services. In some situations, the price of production has a different name. If the product is a "good" in the c ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, the son of an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

father and a

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

n mother who was a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

. He had two older brothers, Thomas (1902-1988; the basis for the character known as the Great Brain) and William; two younger brothers, Charles and Gerald; and an older sister, Isabelle (known as "Belle"). He left Utah in 1925, at the age of 18, and held a variety of jobs, including playing in a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

band, working at a bank and working for a steel company.John Dennis Fitzgerald - Utah History to Go
/ref> Fitzgerald published his first novel, ''Papa Married a Mormon'', in 1955. Other novels for adults about late nineteenth and early twentieth century Utah followed. Fitzgerald had many stories published in

magazines A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combination ...

, and he also co-wrote two textbooks about creative writing. In the 1960s, he turned his attention to books for children, writing the highly successful

series, in which his characters are loosely based on people from his own family and community, including himself. The Great Brain is based on his brother, Tom. Fitzgerald changed many family details in the Great Brain series. He omitted his oldest sibling Isabelle and his younger brothers Charles and Gerald, gave his older brother William the name Sweyn, and invented a family custom of giving sons the middle name Dennis (his older brothers were William J. and Thomas N., not Sweyn D. and Tom D.) The Great Brain novels are structured like a collection of

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

, in which Tom either swindles people and then rationalizes it by claiming it was to teach them a lesson, or solves an important problem for the community. There are eight books in the series (one of which was published posthumously).''Association for Mormon Letters'' Paper by Audrey M. Godfrey
/ref>

Bibliography

The Great Brain series

* ''The Great Brain'' (

Dial Press The Dial Press was a publishing house founded in 1923 by Lincoln MacVeagh. The Dial Press shared a building with ''The Dial'' and Scofield Thayer worked with both. The first imprint was issued in 1924. Authors included Elizabeth Bowen, W. R. Bu ...

, 1967) * ''More Adventures of the Great Brain'' (Dial Press, 1969) * ''Me and My Little Brain'' (Dial Press, 1971) * ''The Great Brain at the Academy'' (Dial Press, 1972) * ''The Great Brain Reforms'' (Dial Press, 1973) * ''The Return of the Great Brain'' (Dial Press, 1974) * ''The Great Brain Does It Again'' (Dial Press, 1976) * ''The Great Brain Is Back'' (Dial Press, 1995) — published from loose notes after the author's death

Other books

* ''Papa Married a Mormon'' (

Prentice-Hall Prentice Hall was an American major educational publisher owned by Savvas Learning Company. Prentice Hall publishes print and digital content for the 6–12 and higher-education market, and distributes its technical titles through the Safari B ...

, 1955) — unofficially co-authored with Fitzgerald's sister Belle Fitzgerald Empey * ''Mamma's Boarding House'' (W.H. Allen, 1958) — sequel to ''Papa Married a Mormon'' * ''Uncle Will and the Fitzgerald Curse'' (

Bobbs-Merrill Company The Bobbs-Merrill Company was a book publisher located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Company history The company began in 1850 October 3 when Samuel Merrill bought an Indianapolis bookstore and entered the publishing business. After his death in 1 ...

, 1961) * (with Robert C. Meredith) ''The Professional Story Writer and His Art'' ( Crowell, 1963) * (with Robert C. Meredith) ''Structuring Your Novel: From Basic Idea to Finished Manuscript'' (

HarperCollins Publishers HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Corp ...

, 1972) * ''Brave Buffalo Fighter'' (Bethlehem Books, 1973) * ''Private Eye'' (T. Nelson, 1974)

References

External links

Histories of Carbon County, Utah

Finding Fitzgerald
website, "Dedicated to Bringing ''The Great Brain'' Books to a New Generation of Readers"
Finding Fitzgerald
blog * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzgerald, John D. 1906 births 1988 deaths American children's writers People from Price, Utah Writers from Utah American people of Danish descent American people of Irish descent