Margaret Landon (September 7, 1903 – December 4, 1993) was an American writer known for '' Anna and the King of Siam'', her best-selling 1944 novel of the life of

Anna Leonowens Anna Harriette Leonowens (born Ann Hariett Emma Edwards; 5 November 1831 – 19 January 1915) was an Anglo-Indian or Indian-born British travel writer, educator, and social activist. She became well known with the publication of her memoirs, b ...

which eventually sold over a million copies and was translated into more than twenty languages. In 1950, Landon sold the musical play rights to

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most well-known American ...

and

Oscar Hammerstein II Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and (usually uncredited) director in the musical theater for almost 40 years. He won eight ...

, who created the musical ''

The King and I ''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the chil ...

'' from her book. A later work, '' Never Dies the Dream'', appeared in 1949.

Life

Born Margaret Dorothea Mortenson to Annenus Duabus "A.D." and Adelle Johanna Mortenson (''née ''Estburg) in

Somers, Wisconsin Somers is a village in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 8,402 at the 2020 census. Somers has a post office with ZIP code 53171. The former unincorporated communities of Berryville, Central Park, and Kellogg's Corners ...

, she was one of three daughters in a devout

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

family. The family moved to

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, ...

, where she graduated from Evanston Township High School in 1921. Landon attended

Wheaton College Wheaton College may refer to: * Wheaton College (Illinois), a private Christian, coeducational, liberal arts college in Wheaton, Illinois * Wheaton College (Massachusetts) Wheaton College is a private liberal arts college in Norton, Massachus ...

Wheaton, Illinois Wheaton is a suburban city in Milton and Winfield Townships and is the county seat of DuPage County, Illinois. It is located approximately west of Chicago. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 52,894, which was estimated ...

, graduating in 1925. She taught at a school for a year, then married Kenneth Landon, whom she knew from Wheaton, and in 1927 they signed up as

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...

missionaries to

Siam Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

(Thailand). Between 1927–37, Landon raised her first three children while running a mission school in

Trang Trang may refer to: Places * Trang province, Thailand **Trang, Thailand, capital city of Trang province **Trang Airport ** Trang railway station ** Trang River *Trang, a sub-district of Mayo district, Pattani province, Thailand * Trang (commune), ...

and read extensively about the country. During her readings, she learned about

, the 19th Century governess to the Siamese royal family of

Mongkut Mongkut ( th, มงกุฏ; 18 October 18041 October 1868) was the fourth monarch of Siam (Thailand) under the House of Chakri, titled Rama IV. He ruled from 1851 to 1868. His full title in Thai was ''Phra Bat Somdet Phra Menthora Ramathibo ...

(Rama IV). When the Landon family returned to America in 1937, she soon began writing articles and then began researching material for a book on Leonowens. Kenneth Landon returned to work on a PhD, and wrote a book on Thai politics. With the outbreak of

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

, Thai ambassador Seni Pramoj refused to deliver his government's declaration of war on the grounds that the

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

had not counter-signed it. Dr. Landon, as Washington's leading expert on Thailand, worked with the

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the intelligence agency of the United States during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines for all branc ...

and then with the

Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other na ...

to create the

Free Thai The Free Thai Movement ( th, เสรีไทย; ) was a Thai underground resistance movement against Imperial Japan during World War II. Seri Thai were an important source of military intelligence for the Allies in the region. Background ...

resistance movement. Dr. Landon later donated hundreds of pages of transcripts of Free Thai radio broadcasts to the Library, along with a small but important collection of post-World War II Thai books on politics as well as Thai

political fiction Political fiction employs narrative to comment on political events, systems and theories. Works of political fiction, such as political novels, often "directly criticize an existing society or present an alternative, even fantast ...

. The couple's fourth child, Kenneth, Jr., was born in Washington, D.C., in 1943. He followed the lead of his parents and took up writing about his own field of interest, releasing ''God of Glory: The Promise of Relationship'' in 1992. Margaret Landon was married 67 years. She died in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of downtown Washington, D.C. In 2020, the population was 159,467. ...

, December 4, 1993, aged 90, leaving 13 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren. She is interred in Wheaton Cemetery in Illinois.

Lawsuit over 1972 television series ''Anna and the King''

In 1972,

Twentieth Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

produced a non-musical television sitcom for CBS based on the film version of ''

'' entitled ''

Anna and the King ''Anna and the King'' is a 1999 American biographical period drama film directed by Andy Tennant and written by Steve Meerson and Peter Krikes. Loosely based on the 1944 novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'', which gives a fictionalized accoun ...

'', with

Samantha Eggar Victoria Louise Samantha Marie Elizabeth Therese Eggar (born 5 March 1939) is a retired British-American actress. After beginning her career in Shakespearean theatre she rose to fame for her performance in William Wyler's thriller '' The Collec ...

taking the part of Anna Leonowens and

Yul Brynner Yuliy Borisovich Briner (russian: link=no, Юлий Борисович Бринер; July 11, 1920 – October 10, 1985), known professionally as Yul Brynner, was a Russian-born actor. He was best known for his portrayal of King Mongkut in th ...

reprising his role as the king. The series was unsuccessful and was canceled after 13 episodes. Landon charged the producers with "inaccurate and mutilated portrayals" of her literary property and sued for copyright infringement.Landon v. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp., 384 F. Supp. 450 (S.D.N.Y. 1974), in Donald E. Biederman, Edward P. Pierson, Martin E. Silfen, Janna Glasser, ''Law and Business of the Entertainment Industries'', 5th edition, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood, 2006, pp. 349–356 The suit initially failed in late 1974, but after the judgment was appealed, the parties chose to settle out of court, and a settlement was reached in 1975 with which Landon was satisfied.

References

Citations

Margaret and Kenneth Landon Papers (SC-38), Wheaton College Special Collections, Wheaton, Illinois

External links

*
Margaret Landon: Wheaton Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Landon, Margaret 1903 births 1993 deaths 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American memoirists American Presbyterian missionaries American women novelists Female Christian missionaries Writers from Alexandria, Virginia Writers from Evanston, Illinois People from Somers, Wisconsin Presbyterian missionaries in Thailand Wheaton College (Illinois) alumni Novelists from Washington, D.C. Writers from Chicago American women memoirists 20th-century American women writers Novelists from Illinois Novelists from Virginia American expatriates in Thailand