Mary Lasswell Smith (February 8, 1905 – July 19, 1994) was a Scottish-born

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

writer of humorous novels about life in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, Mexico, and

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Houghton Mifflin The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

, was described as "a crazy, funny story" about three impoverished but high-spirited and beer-loving elderly women. "The book was unlike most of the novels coming out of Southern California at the time", wrote Beatrice Sherman in ''

The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

'' on December 13, 1942. This book was adapted into a Broadway Play by

Jack Kirkland Jack Kirkland (July 25, 1902 – February 22, 1969) was an American playwright, producer, director and screenwriter. Kirkland's greatest success was the play '' Tobacco Road'', adapted from the Erskine Caldwell novel. His other plays included ...

in 1944. ''Suds in Your Eye'' was followed by five other books about the same three women: Mrs. Feeley, Mrs. Rasmussen, and Miss Tinkham, plus their handyman, only known as "Old-Timer," who never speaks. These included ''High Time'' (1944), ''One on the House'' (1949), ''Wait for the Wagon'' (1951), ''Tooner Schooner'' (1953), and ''Let's Go for Broke'' (1962), all with illustrations by famed ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' artist George Price. Their home base for most of the series was called "Noah's Ark", and was a junkyard in San Diego, but the third and fourth books were set during travels. In the fifth book they moved away from Noah's Ark to an abandoned mansion eight miles from San Diego. These books consistently featured certain themes: the main characters faced financial disaster, usually were forced to take innovative measures to ensure a homeplace, rescued other people with problems, and acted as matchmakers. Among Lasswell's other books were ''Mrs. Rasmussen's Book of One-Arm Cookery'' (1946), ''I'll Take Texas'' (1958), and ''Tio Pepe'' (1968). Lasswell was also an editorial writer for the ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...

'' in the 1960s. Lasswell was born in

Glasgow, Scotland Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, of American parents on February 8, 1905, and grew up in

Brownsville, Texas Brownsville () is a city in Cameron County in the U.S. state of Texas. It is on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, adjacent to the border with Matamoros, Mexico. The city covers , and has a population of 186,738 as of the 2020 census. It ...

. She was married to Dr. Dudley Winn Smith, a surgeon. She died at the Solvang Lutheran Home in

Solvang, California Solvang (; ) is a city in Santa Barbara County, California. It is located in the Santa Ynez Valley. The population was 6,126 at the 2020 census, up from 5,245 at the 2010 census. Solvang was founded in 1911 and incorporated as a city on May ...

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

Book list

Novels featuring Mrs. Feeley, Mrs. Rasmussen, and Miss Tinkham (illustrated by George Price)

*''Suds in Your Eye'' (1942; also adapted as a play) *''High Time'' (1944) *''One on the House'' (1949) *''Wait for the Wagon'' (1951) *''Tooner Schooner'' (1953) *''Let's Go for Broke'' (1962)

Cookbooks

*''Mrs. Rasmussen's Book of One-Arm Cookery'' (1946) *''Mrs. Rasmussen's Book of One-Arm Cookery With Second Helpings'' (1970; updated edition of previous)

Other

*''Bread for the Living'' (1948) A serious novel set in

, in the early 20th century *''Tio Pepe'' (1963; illustrated by Robert MacLean) *''I'll Take Texas'' (1958, with Bob Pool; illustrated by Jo Alys Downs) *''In Way of Progress'' (1958) *'' Rags And Hope: The Recollections Of Val C. Giles, Four Years With Hood's Brigade, Fourth Texas Infantry 1861-1865'' (1961) *''John Henry Kirby: Prince of the Pines'' (1967) *''Mrs. Feeley's Garden of Eden'' (''

Modern Maturity ''AARP: The Magazine'' is an American bi-monthly magazine, published by AARP, which focuses on aging-related issues. History and operations In 1958, AARP began publishing a magazine titled ''Modern Maturity.'' ''Modern Maturity'' was later sp ...

'' Feb-Mar 1979 issue) short story, illustrated by George Price

References

''New York Times'' obituaryGuide to Mary Lasswell Smith collection at University of Texas
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lasswell Smith, Mary 1905 births 1994 deaths 20th-century American writers 20th-century American women writers Writers from Glasgow British emigrants to the United States