Betty Macdonald Rocks
Ranked #4,292 in Books, Poetry & Writing, #160,813 overall
Why? Because of Her Great Autobiographies.
Want a great read? How about something that makes you belly laugh on one page and sigh on the next? Something full of imagination yet true to life? Look no further than Betty Macdonald.
Betty is best known for her laugh-filled autobiographies; she is also a well-loved children's author for her Mrs Piggle-Wiggle children's books.
Her first book The Egg And I took America by storm when published at the end of World War 2. Betty describes her years with first husband Bob on a remote chicken farm at Chimacum on the Washington State Olympic Peninsula, about an hour's drive from Port Angeles of Twilight movie fame. Among other great characters, we are introduced to Betty's farming neighbours Ma and Pa Kettle. They quickly became famous in their own right from the success of The Egg And I movie, which starred Claudette Colbert. Though Betty came to dislike chickens after her chicken farm experiences she became forever associated with the birds after The Egg And I.
After leaving her difficult husband with the chickens, we see Betty escape the wilds of Washington State's Olympic Peninsula and move home to her family in Seattle. Here she raises her two daughters Anne and Joan through the Great Depression in her book Anybody Can Do Anything. Those times were tough but no match for the humourous outlook of Betty and her lively extended family, especially fired-up sister Mary Bard.
Betty's funny-bone is put to the test again through a life-threatening bout of tuberculosis. She spends a year in a sanitorium away from her family, but during her long recovery makes good friends and meets memorable characters. This experience becomes her book The Plague And I.
In easier times Betty meets second husband Don, and the family moves out to a sea-front home overlooking Puget Sound on Vashon island off the coast of Seattle. The house is still there, now running as a popular bed and breakfast. This part of her life became Onions In The Stew.
Betty's autobiographical books are quirky, personal, honest, tender, sometimes sad and almost always funny. She has a sharp eye for people's personal quirks and habits, resulting in some hilarious character sketches that can sometimes be quite caustic. Beware the seemingly quiet Bettys in life! They don't miss much, that is for sure!
Do note - in Betty's world the language isn't always clean, people are keen drinkers and smokers, sex is handled matter-of-factly and some cultural views are definitely of their time... so her books may not be a good fit for those who like to completely avoid earthy or culturally insensitive fare. But it is worth reading around that so you can enjoy the many delights of Betty Macdonald!
Topic Guide for Betty Macdonald Rocks
Why Betty Macdonald?
Betty's 2008 centenary
Her Books For Kids
Mrs Piggle-Wiggle
Nancy and Plum
Betty's Autobiographies
The Egg And I
Anybody Can Do Anything
The Plague And I
Onions In The Stew
YouTube Clips
The Egg And I movie
Ma and Pa Kettle
Mrs Piggle-Wiggle theatre production
Have Your Say
Duel - Does Betty Rock?
Duel - Does Mrs Piggle-Wiggle Rock?
Best Book Poll
Best Character Poll
Your Comments
Who is Mary Bard?
Betty's sister, Mary
Mary Bard resources online
Betty's Homes
Betty's birthplace, Boulder
Betty's childhood home, Butte
Betty's family base, Seattle
Betty's island home, Vashon
Betty Cooks
Food in Betty's books
An academic look at Betty and cooking
Find Betty Online
Wikipedia info
Blogs talking about Betty
Links to sites
Buying Betty Online
The Egg And I on Amazon
Anybody Can Do Anything on Amazon
The Plague And I on Amazon
Onions In The Stew on Amazon
Betty on eBay
Mrs Piggle-Wiggle on Amazon
Nancy and Plum on Amazon
Betty Macdonald and I
Why Betty?
My sister and I discovered Betty in our family bookcase as teenagers and have been firm Betty fans ever since. It says a lot for Betty that 1980s teens in New Zealand would take to her 1940s American autobiographies like ducks to water - and years on we still love her to bits.We love Betty's grandmother Gammy who lived with the family, baked cakes containing everything from onions to old jars of jam, and kept what seems like a full pantry and pharmacy in her bed.
...a lover of Gammy's certainly would have had a lumpy couch with her nightgowns, bed jackets and several extra suits of 'chimaloons' folded under the pillow, her Bible tucked under the sheet at the top right-hand side, any book she happened to be reading tucked under the sheet on the other side, little bags of candy, an apple or two, current magazines, numerous sachets and her bottle of camphor just tucked under the blankets or scattered under the pillows within easy reach. We children thought this an ideal arrangement, for when we were lonely or frightened Gammy's bed was as comforting as a crowded country store.
There's Betty's pioneer spirited mother who, though raised well-to-do in Boston, was happy to drop everything in response to her husband's telegram "Leaving for Mexico City for two years Thursday - be ready if you want to come along."
And there is Betty's spirited sister Mary who often instigates unusual situations and adventures...
When I told Mary about my second grade teacher not giving us sausage books, Mary was so outraged she was going right back to school and mark on the desks and put paste in the inkwells, but to her relief I pleaded with her and finally talked her out of this dangerous act of loyalty. So as a reward she tried to invent perpetual motion and knocked out all my front teeth.
And of course we love Betty herself, who tries to lighten her lonely outlook on the chicken ranch by explaining mysterious chicken deaths with record book entries like "chickenpox-eggzema". Her husband is not amused, replacing her entries with "not determined".But I can't convince you to love Betty in a few paragraphs. The best way to make up your mind is to read her excellent books for yourself, starting with...
The Egg And I
Betty's first book - the chicken ranch
The Egg And I was published just after WWII and tells of how she left her quirky, vibrant family after marrying young to live in rural isolation with her first husband on a chicken ranch in the North Pacific mountains.Betty doesn't dwell on the romance of this way of life, which was especially hard back then in the 1930s considering the barriers to transport and communication.
She describes a lifestyle filled with beauty, community and the satisfaction of work well done, but doesn't gloss over how hard and lonely this life can be.
On living with her mother and grandmother:
Mother set the table with candles and silver and glassware and flowers every night whether we had company or not. Gammy preferred to eat in the kitchen with peeler knives and carving forks as utensils. Mother taught me to wash dishes, first the glassware, then the silver, then the china and last the pots and pans. Gammy washed dishes, first a glass, then a greasy frying pan, then a piece or two of silver. Mother served food beautifully with parsley and paprika and attractive colour combinations of vegetables. Gammy tossed things on the table in the dishes in which they had been cooked and when she served she crowded the food into one frightened group, leaving most of the plate bare. 'After all it's only nourishment for the body', she would say as she slapped a spoon of mashed potato on top of the chop and sprinkled the whole thing with peas. It was a lesson in cross-purposes and the result is that one day I barely clean my house and the next day I'm liable to lick the rafters and clean out nail holes with a needle.
On moving to the mountains:
... the land up there was all of it so untainted, so virginal, that I expected the earth to yell 'Ouch' when we stuck a spade into it and any germ that could have survived the rigours of that life would have been so big and strapping we could have seen it for blocks.
On meeting neighbour Ma Kettle:
Mrs Kettle had pretty light brown hair, only faintly streaked with grey and skinned back into a tight knot, clear blue eyes, a creamy skin which flushed exquisitely from the heat, a straight delicate nose, fine even white teeth and a small rounded chin. From this dainty pretty head cascaded a series of busts and stomachs which made her look like a cookie jar shaped like a woman. Her whole front was dirty and spotted and she wiped her hands continually on one or other of her stomachs. She had also a disconcerting habit of reaching up under her dress and adjusting something in the vicinity of her navel and reaching down the front of her dress and adjusting her large breasts. These adjustments were not, I learned later, confined to either the privacy of the house or a female gathering - they were made anywhere - any time. 'I itch - so I scratch - so what!' was Mrs Kettle's motto.
On the mother of neighbour Birdie Hicks:
I had sat on Birdie Hicks' front porch for perhaps two minutes when I realized that hungry as I was for companionship this visit was going to be an ordeal, for Birdie's mother, a small sharp-cornered woman with a puff of short grey hair like a gone-to-seed dandelion, tried so hard to be young that conversation with her was out of the question and her ceaseless activity was as nerve-wracking as watching someone blow up an old balloon.
On the changing relationship with her husband:
One night after dinner as I sat at the kitchen table industriously making my baby chick 'feed and death' entries for the day, Bob unexpectedly kissed the back of my neck. I was as confused as though an old boss had chosen that means of rewarding me for a nice typing job. 'Another year or two and we probably won't even use first names', I told Bob.On visiting sales people:
There were also a Corset Lady and a House-dress Lady. They travelled together and one squeezed me into a corset and the other jammed me into a house-dress. The Corset Lady had piercing black eyes and a large bust and stomach apparently encased in steel, for when I brushed against her it was like bumping into our oil drum. She was such a high-pressure saleswoman that almost before she had turned off the ignition of her car I found myself in my bedroom in my 'naked strip' being forced into a foundation garment.
On letters from the family:
Among the letters I received were monthly ones from Deargrandmother addressed Dear Child Bride, which I found intensely annoying... I wrote to Mother and demanded that she make Deargrandmother stop addressing me in this depressing way, but Mother characteristically replied, 'Why stop her? She enjoys it and it doesn't hurt you.' In fact, even mentioning the child bride business to my family was a mistake, for from that time on all of their letters were addressed - and sometimes on the outside of the envelope - Child Bride.
Read The Egg And I
The updated cover of The Egg And I is nice on the new publication but I still treasure my plain, dirty, second-hand copy. On the inside cover of mine there's an inscription from my ma to my dad that says 'with love and light humour, christmas 1972'. No way am I trading that for a nicer looking new copy! Of course The Egg And I reads well no matter what the cover looks like :-)
The Egg and I
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Watch Clips From The Egg And I Movie
If you're a Betty Macdonald, Claudette Colbert, or Fred MacMurry fan, definitely check out The Egg And I movie. It's a well-loved film but I have to admit that I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped, probably because I love the depth of the book and the movie is much more slapstick. I guess I wanted the scenes and characters to be exactly like the book!
You can find The Egg And I movie on Amazon - it comes bundled with the Ma and Pa Kettle movie collection. See the More Betty Goodness section below if you want to get hold of it.
You can find The Egg And I movie on Amazon - it comes bundled with the Ma and Pa Kettle movie collection. See the More Betty Goodness section below if you want to get hold of it.
The Plague and I
Betty's second - the sanitorium
Surely an account of your battle with tuberculosis in a sanitorium must be a miserable, downcast story?Not so for Betty Macdonald. She doesn't shrink from the difficulties of serious illness and institutional life, but she saw much to observe and relish too.
Some fantastic characters appear in the form of sanitorium room-mates. In particular are Kimi the young and wise Japanese girl, Eileen the firey redhead who just won't rest up, and Minna the sneaky and sickly sweet southern belle.
In this book Betty recounts more of her fascinating early life with her adventurous father, graciously accepting mother and, of course, her unusually quirky grandmother Gammy.
On Gammy's pessimism:
After she had fixed us some hot potsum and had given us each a much too big helping of her grey, gluey, lumpy oatmeal, Gammy would pick up the morning paper and read aloud bad news. 'I see that the Huns are cutting off all the Belgian women's breasts', she would remark pleasantly as she took a sip of Potsum. Or, 'Well, here's a poor careless little child who played on the railroad tracks and the train came along and cut off both his legs at the hip. Poor little legless creature.' Or, 'Here's a mountain girl who had a baby at thirteen. Well, I suppose we can't start too young to learn what life has in store for us.' When she had exhausted all the sad news about people, she would read bad weather reports from all over the world. Blizzards, cyclones, droughts, floods, hurricanes and tidal waves were her pleasure. Mother pleaded with Daddy to stop taking the morning paper, but we children loved it.
On getting TB:
Getting tuberculosis in the middle of your life is like starting down town to do a lot of urgent errands and being hit by a bus. When you regain consciousness you remember nothing about the important errands. You can't even remember where you were going. The important things now are the pain in your leg; the soreness in your back; what you will have for dinner; who is in the next bed.
On meeting the sanitorium medical director:
He said, 'Taking the cure is going to be difficult for you. You have red hair - lots of energy, you're quick, active, impatient. All bad for tuberculosis. Discipline will be hard for you. The cure of tuberculosis is all discipline.' I said that I would do anything. Anything at all to get well. He stood up and put his arm around me and said, 'That is the spirit', which was very kind of him considering the fact that he had just written on my card, 'Prognosis - doubtful'.
On living in a sanitorium:
Being suddenly thrust with perfect strangers and forced to live with them without any privacy at all for twenty-four-hour period after twenty-four-hour period is as much a problem in adjustment as a planned marriage but without the impetus or surcease of sex.
On Kimi being given time out of bed:
Kimi was ecstatic until after breakfast when she stood up to put on her robe. Then Minna said 'Oh, honey, youah so tall, youah just enohmous! I had no idea you were so big!' Kimi, looking as though she had been slapped, said, 'The Japanese are such little fellow, already I felt like Gulliver with the Lilliputian.' I said, 'But you're not very tall Kimi.' Kimi said 'Oh yes, already five and one feet and probably still growing.' I said, 'But I'm five feet seven', and Eileen said 'And I'm five feet five.' Minna said, 'And poah little me can't reach five feet with high heels. It's shuah lucky foh me that Sweetie-Pie says that good things come in small packages.' Eileen said 'And I can get just as sick to my stummick on a little of your guff as I can on a whole lot.' 'And the bite of a little rattlesnake is just as deadly as the bite of a big one', Kimi said, moving slowly and regally out the door.
An old family paperback copy of The Plague And I, read to pieces!
On seeing her daughters for the first time after admittance to the sanitorium:
I had been at The Pines a month and it was Sunday and a visiting day. On the stroke of two I opened my eyes and there were Anne and Joan and Mother. Anne and Joan had on new dark blue coats and their own shining faces and were beautiful. Anne said, her eyes filling with tears, 'I would like to kiss you.' Joan said 'I can do a figure eight on my roller skates.' Anne said 'The nurse said that we couldn't even touch your bed.' Joan said 'I can do a figure eight on my roller skates.' I said, 'Don't you think this is a beautiful hospital, girls?' Anne said, 'It smells!' Then added tactfully, 'Like medicine! When can you come home, Mommy?' Joan said, 'When you come home you can see me do a figure eight on my roller skates.' Kimi's family came in then and the children were fascinated and had to be turned around and faced in my direction. Read The Plague And I
The title sounds dreary but the writing sure isn't!
The Plague And I (Common Reader Editions)
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Anybody Can Do Anything
Betty's third - the great depression
The Great Depression was a hard time for many people, and Betty's family was no exception. Anybody Can Do Anything tells the story of how the family weathered the financial storms of 1930s America.Like the previous books, this one features more stories about Betty's early life with her family. In particular we learn more about her go-getting sister Mary, and indeed it is Mary's inexhaustable energy and connections that pull the family through some of the hardest years of the Depression.
On the Depression's silver lining:
The best thing about the depression was the way it reunited our family and gave my sister Mary a real opportunity to prove that anybody can do anything, especially Betty.
On Mary as an older sister to infant Betty:
When I was but a few months old, Gammy, my father's mother who always lived with us, sent Mary to the kitchen to ask the cook for a drink of water for me. Mary returned in a matter of seconds with the bathroom glass half-filled with water. Gammy, suspicious, asked Mary where she had got the water. Mary said, 'Out of the toilet.' Gammy said, 'Mary Bard, you're a naughty little girl.' Mary pointed at me smiling and reaching for the cup and said, 'No I'm not, Gammy. See, she wants it. We always give it to her.'
On Mary as an older sister to Betty a few years later:
And the time after we had moved to Seattle that Mary and I, then ten and twelve, were dressing after swimming and she suggested that I stand naked in the window of our bedroom and wave to the President of the Milwaukee Railroad, who with his wife was being shown the garden by Mother and Daddy. When I seemed a little reluctant to extend this evidence of Western hospitality, Mary tried to convince me and somehow in the course of the convincing she pushed her head and shoulders through the window pane and we both rolled out on the roof into the heap of broken glass, stark naked and yelping like wounded dogs. The President of the Milwaukee Railroad and his wife, who didn't have any children, believed our story about my catching my foot in my bathing suit and falling against Mary and forcing us both through the window, and were very sympathetic to us when we appeared for tea, wrapped in bandages.
On Mary getting Betty a job after leaving the chicken ranch:
In the lobby she introduced me to about fifteen assorted men and women and explained that she had just brought me down out of the mountains to take her place as private secretary to Mr Webster. In her enthusiasm she made it sound a little as though she had to wing me to get me down out of the trees, and I felt that I should have taken a few nuts and berries out of my pocket and nibbled on them just to keep in character.
On trying to find a job in the pouring rain:
A block before I got off the streetcar, I noted my bedraggled appearance in my pocket mirror, wiped off the runny mascara from under my eyes, poked some of the wet hair under my hat and comforted myself with the knowledge that most terribly talented people look as if they had just crawled out of a manhole.
On the pianist at a church recital:
She had shed her gold cape and was simply clad in a sleeveless black satin dress and some crystal beads. She settled herself on the piano bench, folded her hands in her lap and began to sway. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth and then suddenly... she lit into the first runs of 'Rustle'. Miss Grondahl was a vigorous, very loud player, but what made her performance irresistable to Dede and me were the large tufts of black hair which sprang quivering out of the armholes of her dress each time she lifted her hands at the end of a run or raised her arms for a crashing chord. After that we rarely missed a recital.On socializing after divorce:
Most females between the ages of thirteen and forty-five feel that being caught at home dateless, especially on a Friday or Saturday night, is a shameful thing like having athlete's foot. I used to harbour the same silly notion and many's the lie I've told to anyone tactless enough to call up at nine-thirty and ask me what I was doing. 'What am I doing?' I'd say, brushing the fudge crumbs off the front of my pyjamas and making the place in my book. 'Oh, just sitting here sipping champagne and smoking opium. My date had trouble with his car.'
On entertaining guests in the Depression years:
Every night for dinner we had from two to ten extra people to tax Mother's ingenuity in stretching the meatloaf, macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, chili, tuna fish and noodles, vegetable soup, park wood and beds. After dinner we played bridge or charades or Chinese checkers or the piano, rolled old cigarette butts into new cigarettes on our little cigarette-rolling machine, drank gallons of coffee which was seventeen cents a pound, ate cinnamon toast, read aloud Mark Twain, made fun of each other and all our friends, sang songs, played records, followed the dance marathons on the radio and complained because our bosses tried to stifle our individuality by making us work. Read Anybody Can Do Anything
With the economic problems facing everyone right now, this book is especially relevant again today.
Anybody Can Do Anything
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Onions In The Stew
Betty's fourth - vashon island
This book covers Betty's life with second husband Don, beginning in World War II. Onions In The Stew tells the story of their move to Vashon Island off the coast of Seattle, with Betty's now teenage daughters.As usual we are introduced to new intriguing characters like the not-so-hapless-as-she-seems Elizabeth Gage and the temptress Lesley Arnold, but it is the characters of Anne's immediate family - Don, Anne and Joan - that are focused on and fleshed out beautifully in this book.
Introducing Vashon Island:
From the water Vashon looks like a stout gentleman taking a Sunday nap under a woolly dark green afghan. The afghan, obviously home-made, is fringed on the edges, occasionally lumpy, eked out with odds and ends of paler and darker wools, but very ample so that it falls in thick folds to the water. Against this vast greenness, houses scattered along the shore appear small and forlorn, like discarded paper boxes floated in on the tide. The few hillside houses look half smothered and defeated, like frail invalids in the clutches of a huge feather bed.
On living off-road:
Our new beautiful pewter-coloured dream house had no road. This tiny flaw in its perfection, at first candidly spoken of and looked apon as a flaw but so insignificant compared to things like a salt-water beach and handbraided rugs, had during the summer of fluctuation and persuasion somehow emerged as a blessing. No road meant no bores, the Hendersons said. No road meant privacy. No road meant nothing to run over the children and animals. 'We don't want a road', our neighbours said and are still saying, only each year more faintly, with less conviction. 'We don't want a road either', we said bravely that summer when we were negotiating. Then came the day of reckoning and we were faced with the uncomfortable fact that walking the mile and a half from the ferry on a beautiful trail along the water carrying a pound of bacon and a quart of gin is one thing. Hauling in a van-load of furniture and possessions is unquestionably another.
On Joan preparing to start at her new school:
Joan's approach to the problem was very simple. She merely asked me forty-two times if I had put three whole sandwiches in her lunch. I said I had and she said what about an apple - I said yes and she said cookies? Yes. And she was ready.
On Anne preparing to start at her new school:
Anne's preparation involved first going through and despising all her clothes, then choosing the least loathesome things and ironing them, even things as smooth as mirrors. She wouldn't allow me to iron them - too careless; or Joan - too stupid. She was half-way through her third blouse - first one turned out to be 'absolutely filthy' - tiny speck on part that tucked into the skirt - the second - 'entirely rotted under arms from perspiration. How I loathe hand-me-downs! How I wish we were rich! How I despise living in the country. Why do we always have to change schools every five minutes?' (this was the first change to my knowledge). I showed her that the 'entirely rotted' was merely a small wrinkle from being packed. This brought tears to her eyes so I let her alone, and went out to put breakfast on the table. She called to me excitedly, I put down my spatula and went into the living-room, steeled to combat rot and filth.
On being snowed in for two weeks and running out of food:
One bleak morning towards the end of the siege, I was shuffling around the kitchen contemplating a casserole of noodles, Puss'nBoots and candle stubs, when Don announced 'My God, we have run out of whiskey!' and offered to mush up to Vashon and get some supplies.
On the difficulties of keeping up with friends when living on an island:
The other day I ran into what I consider a close friend on the ferry. I said, 'Oh, and you have the new baby with you. I've been dying to see her', and she said, 'You must mean Marilyn, Betty. She started school yesterday. This is Johnny and I guess you missed Larry altogether. Too bad I left him at home with Mother.' She knew that I have been busy and obviously she has too.
On young adults:
Adolescents do not hate their parents. They merely feel absolute contempt, occasionally coated with condescending pity for them, their tiny brains, ridiculous ideas, unfair rules and obvious senility. They refer to their fathers as 'oh, him' and their mothers as 'she' - 'She won't let me go, naturally. She's scared to death I might have a little fun for a change.' 'Who was that on the phone? Oh, him! What did he want, his overcoat again?' Read Onions In The Stew
This is probably my fave Betty book ... I think! Maybe it is time to read them again and decide for sure...
Onions in the Stew
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Betty Macdonald Cooks
Food is a recurring topic for Betty Macdonald. She and her family appreciated good fare, and they definitely noticed when it wasn't so good! Meals, ingredients and the act of cooking are described lovingly and hilariously in Betty's books (particularly Onions In The Stew). These passages often make me put down the book and hunt for a tasty snack :-)On first husband Bob cooking venison, from the Egg And I:
Bob usually cooked the game. We underwent this little ordeal because he was of the opinion that only he, and perhaps the chef of the Waldorf, knew how to cook game. With venison he used lots of garlic, pinches of sage, majoram, bayleaf, pepper, salt, hundreds of pots and pans, Worcestershire, celery salt, onion salt, mushroom salt and every else he could grab with his large floury hands. When the meat was finally in the oven he hovered around the stove getting in my way and complaining about the quality of the wood (that same wood which he had praised so highly to me and with each armful of which he had guaranteed white heat). When at long last with reverant hands he served me a portion of the venison steak, chops or roast, I found that it tasted just like venison and palled after the second week.
Betty's Clam Fritters
Soak three large peeled, grated potatoes in water overnight. Add the potatoes to two cups of ground clams, three beaten eggs, about four tablespoons of flour (Betty says to use more if the batter doesn't hold together), a grated onion, about half a teaspoon of salt, coarse black pepper to taste and half a cup of chopped parsley. Cook the fritters with bacon fat on a griddle (I guess an ordinary frying pan will do fine too). Betty suggests serving with butter and crisp bacon.
On second husband Don as a cook, from Onions In The Stew:
Don likes to cook too, but like most males in the kitchen even the making of a fried-egg sandwich produces the attitude of a Vienna trained surgeon repairing the trachea of a new-born baby. 'Hand me that pan! Where is the butter? Now some coarse ground pepper, careful not too much. Is the bread buttered? Heat the plates! Have you made the coffee? Hand me the spatula, no, the big one. Move faster, things are getting cold.' He demands much of his staff as he busies himself turning the clean kitchen into something that looks as if it had been attacked by a gang of dope-crazed teen-aged vandals.
On Don bringing Betty an inedible version of his famous fried Monte Christo sandwich when she is sick one New Year's Eve, from Onions In The Stew:
Joan said, 'Well, I came out in the kitchen and Don was breaking eggs into a bowl. Squashing them between his hands and letting the egg run through his fingers the way he says chefs do. I noticed a couple of feathers and an awful lot of pepper in the bowl but I didn't say anything until he finished cracking the eggs and began grinding in more pepper. Then I said, "Aren't you putting in an awful lot of pepper in that batter?" He said, "I haven't put any in yet." I said, "You did too. I saw it. Look." I showed him the billions of black specks and he said, "That isn't pepper." I asked him what it was then and he said, "Probably just a little old chicken manure." Then I looked at the eggs and they were the ones he always gets from that crazy Mrs. Elchin and of course they were covered with feathers and chicken manure. I told Don he'd better throw the eggs out and start over and he said, "Vitamin B-12 is very healthful. Anyway, nobody will know the difference" and kept right on grinding the pepper.'Don's Monte Christo Sandwiches
Ham, swiss cheese and turkey in white bread, dipped in peppery egg batter and fried in butter.
On recipes doomed to failure, from Onions In The Stew:
The other day as I ironed I listened idly to a radio programme for housewives. I was immediately irritated by the commentator or whatever she calls herself, because she said 'prolly' for 'probably'. I was further irritated when with a great deal of self-confidence and speaking slowly so that the listeners could get it all down, she gave a perfectly ghastly recipe for one of my favourite foods, pot roast. As nearly as I can remember she said, 'This being spring you are prolly at the end of your ropes as far as meal planning is concerned and would prolly just love to know about an easy delicious meal to surprise your family. Well, here it is. Individual pot roasts. All you do is take a pot roast and cut it up into pieces, so that each member of the family has one, put them in individual casseroles, cover with plenty of water, add a couple of carrots and a turnip and bake until done. What a surprise for the family! Everybody with his own little pot roast!' From her recipe I would say 'everybody with his own little chunk of boiled army blanket'. Another female household-hinter gave a recipe for a big hearty main dish of elbow macaroni, mint jelly, lima beans, mayonnaise and cheese baked until 'hot and yummy'. Unless my taste buds are paralysed, this dish could be baked until Hell freezes over and it might get hot but never 'yummy'.
Betty's Clam Chowder
Grind at least four cups of fresh butter clams with a green pepper, a bunch of green onions, six slices of bacon, a couple of peeled potatoes and a bunch of parsley. Cover with water and simmer until the potatoes are cooked. Add milk (Betty says 'two or three large cans' but I guess just enough to give you a consistency you like), and salt and coarse ground pepper to taste. She suggests serving hot with buttered toast.
I haven't tried out the food ideas in Betty's books yet, like the ones above. If you do, let us know how they turn out!
From Eggs To Stew
A closer look at Betty and her food
Seems like I'm not the only one interested in Betty's food - someone beat me to it way back in 1989 with academic style no less! If you like Betty MacDonald and food too, make sure you check out Cooking By The Book: Food In Literature And Culture edited by Mary Anne Schofield.
One of the essays in the book is From Eggs To Stew: The Importance of Food in the Popular Narratives of Betty MacDonald, written by Delmar Davis. The essay takes an in-depth look at how Betty talks about food in her books.
Intriguingly one of the other essays included in this book is about Elizabeth Gage. Elizabeth is of course familiar to Onions In The Stew readers as the happily pitiful mother who, very unexpectedly, happens to be a fantastic cook.
One of the essays in the book is From Eggs To Stew: The Importance of Food in the Popular Narratives of Betty MacDonald, written by Delmar Davis. The essay takes an in-depth look at how Betty talks about food in her books.
Intriguingly one of the other essays included in this book is about Elizabeth Gage. Elizabeth is of course familiar to Onions In The Stew readers as the happily pitiful mother who, very unexpectedly, happens to be a fantastic cook.
Cooking by the Book: Food in Literature and Culture
Amazon Price: $16.92 (as of 05/30/2012)
List Price: $16.95
Used Price: $8.35
The From Eggs To Stew essay on Betty MacDonald runs to about ten pages. I'm not sure how long the essay on Elizabeth Gage is.
Does Betty Rock?
What does everyone else think of Betty Macdonald... maybe Betty is only loved by members of my family!
Does Betty rock?
Yes Betty rocks!
Alaska Reader says:
Betty rocked then, she rocks now, and she'll continue to rock so long as there are readers to be charmed by her work.
JodiVee says:
This is my first time hearing about Betty Macdonald, and it sounds like she's an excellent writer. I have read other literature written in the 40s, and I've enjoyed it immensely. I'll make a mental note to look her up next time I visit the library.
Pippin says:
Betty MacDonald was absolutely one of the finest writers of the 20th century and it's a mystery to me why so few people read her work any more. She was a genius. She was a comedic writer of rare talent, but she also had the ability to write descriptive passages which transport the reader directly into her world. Yes, sometimes it's hard to read her descriptions of some of the Pacific Northwest natives with whom she came in contact; she had some experiences which shaded her views and she tended to stereotype that culture. But her sharp observations of the quirks of her neighbors, her gorgeous descriptions of the land, her love of family, her self-deprecating humor, all make her work just as readable now as it ever was. I read something of hers every year. She never fails to make me laugh. She died at 49; what a loss not just to her family, but to all of us.
JoolsObsidian says:
I read the Betty McDonald books when I was a teenager and I have re-read them many times since. They never fail to make me laugh.
VickiSims says:
Maybe it was because I grew up in the Puget Sound area that made her books special to me, but I think Betty Macdonald rocks!
No Betty doesn't rock my boat.
Best Character in Betty's Books
Betty's books are full of great character sketches. But who is the best character overall?
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Best Betty Book
Which book is your fave? Can you even choose just one? Maybe you like one of her other books better.... or maybe you just don't like these books at all.
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Betty for Young'uns... Mrs Piggle-Wiggle
Yes, Betty wrote non-autobiographical books as well. Probably her best known fiction books are her range for children.
Interesting random fact... Maurice Sendak, famous for his book 'Where the Wild Things Are', illustrated Mrs Piggle-Wiggle's Farm.
Interesting random fact... Maurice Sendak, famous for his book 'Where the Wild Things Are', illustrated Mrs Piggle-Wiggle's Farm.
Children's Theatre Company Performs The Magic Mrs Piggle-Wiggle
Does Mrs Piggle-Wiggle Rock?
Remember Mrs Piggle-Wiggle books by Betty MacDonald from when you were a kid? Like em? Hate em? Let us know!
Does Mrs Piggle-Wiggle Rock?
Yes, Mrs Piggle-Wiggle rocks!
VickiSims says:
Absolutely!
Evelyn_Saenz says:
She sure does!
FantasyDesigns says:
Most definitely Rocks!
sparklenz says:
I didn't know about Mrs Piggle-Wiggle until after I read Betty's other books in my teens, but it sounds like she is a legendary childhood character for a lot of people.
No, she got the boot from my bookcase.
More Betty for Young'uns... Nancy And Plum
Children and adults alike will know Nancy and Plum
Readers of Betty's book Anybody Can Do Anything will remember how Betty and her sister Mary spun tales about two orphan children, Nancy and Plum. In later years these childhood stories were published as a book for new generations of children to enjoy. Like Mrs Piggle-Wiggle, the characters of Nancy and Plum are now well-loved in children's literature.An audio talking book version of Nancy And Plum has also been released, but alas new copies don't seem to be available at the moment. There are some second hand ones available now on Amazon though - see below.
More Betty Goodness - The Egg And I movie and The Kettles
The Egg And I movie was such a success that it sparked a series of films based on Betty's neighbours Mr and Mrs Kettle, more famously known as Ma and Pa Kettle (played by Percy Kilbride and Marjorie Main). These were very popular films at the time and still have a big following.
Ma And Pa Kettle Movie Clip
Betty's Sister, Mary Bard
Betty's sister Mary is also an excellent writer.
Writing under her maiden name of Mary Bard, Mary is well worth a read too. So far I've only read one of her books - Forty Odd - which is Mary's account of turning forty. It's good, definitely funny, but also a little sad somehow.
I haven't yet read her other books, The Doctor Wears Three Faces and Just Be Yourself, but will do as soon as I find which family member has them tucked away. I think she may have written others too.
Pity Amazon doesn't have pics for all Mary's books here. Once I finally track down our old family copies I will add images for each book. This is proving frustrating as it sounds like they have all been loaned out to friends, and noone can remember who! Could be time for a fresh search of the local second hand book shops :-)
I haven't yet read her other books, The Doctor Wears Three Faces and Just Be Yourself, but will do as soon as I find which family member has them tucked away. I think she may have written others too.Pity Amazon doesn't have pics for all Mary's books here. Once I finally track down our old family copies I will add images for each book. This is proving frustrating as it sounds like they have all been loaned out to friends, and noone can remember who! Could be time for a fresh search of the local second hand book shops :-)
Mary Bard Resources
Not only did both sisters write, they also both had books adapted for film. I don't think there were any radio adaptions of Betty's books but there was certainly an adaption of Mary's book The Doctor Wears Three Faces.
- MP3 file of the 'The Doctor Wears Three Faces' radio adapation
- In 1954 a radio adaption of The Doctor Wears Three Faces was aired under the title Mother Didn't Tell Me, based on the film of the same name. The film had already been released in 1950. Both the radio play and the film featured Dorothy McGuire and William Lundigan.
You might have seen Dorothy McGuire as the mother in the movies Old Yeller and Swiss Family Robinson. And the year before William Lundigan worked on the film version of Mother Didn't Tell Me, he was surely tickled to have starred with Marilyn Monroe in the movie Love Nest!
Sadly I can't find any copies of the film - I will let you know f I find it. But luckily for modern day fans a copy of the radio show is held in the Old Time Radio section of the Internet Archives.
Clicking the link above should open up the audio file in your web browser and let you listen to the radio play. - Mary Bard Jensen fan site
- This is the sister site to the Friends of Betty Macdonald site. I've included some resources for Mary here, but no matter what Mary Bard info and resources you're looking for, her fan site should be your first stop.
Betty Macdonald on eBay
Betty Macdonald books and other materials are available on eBay, so this might be helpful if you're finding it hard picking up copies elsewhere.
Betty Macdonald's Birthplace - Boulder, Colorado
Betty was born in Boulder in 1908. Bethinkbethany has written a great lens that tells you all about Boulder as it is today.
Childhood Home of Betty Macdonald - Butte, Montana
Betty spent several years in Butte as a child. If you want to find out more about the town check out this lens by Groundswell.
Betty's Family Base - Seattle
Seattle was Betty's home for a long time, and home to her extended family too. The city features heavily in her books and many of the buildings and landmarks she wrote about still exist. For anyone wanting to get to know Seattle a little better, here's a great lens by Sandyspider all about the emerald city.
Find Betty Macdonald Online
You've read the books and read this lens... but you want more! Luckily there are other places on the web where you can find out more about Betty Macdonald.
- Betty MacDonald Farm - bed and breakfast at Betty's Vashon Island House
- This is a great site to visit if you want to see photos of Betty Macdonald's house on Vashon Island. The house is now a bed and breakfast, so not only can you visit Betty's old house, you can actually stay there! (Of course if you visit to sight-see, you'll need to be respectful of the residents' privacy.)
- Friends of Betty Macdonald
- The Friends of Betty Macdonald site has a lot of different resources, including information, photos/images, and even a forum and a fanclub.
- Online Encyclopedia of Washington State
- The Online Encyclopedia of Washington State features an essay about Betty Macdonald written by Mildred Andrews.
- HeraldNet Newspaper Article - "New owners revive the 'Egg and I' farm"
- In 2008 Phil Vogelzang and his family realised their dream for a small-scale farm when they bought a property on Egg And I Road in Chimacum... You guessed right - Betty's old farm! Now that they know about the farm's literary background the family intend to work with the heritage Betty has left them. Her book, The Egg And I, has given them an inside eye into the crops they can successfully grow on the land. Definitely a practical helping hand for first-time farmers building their dream!
The article also mentions a Betty MacDonald memorabilia collection owned by Gael McNealy in nearby Port Townsend. It sounds like the collection is open for viewing in a store on downtown Polk Street. Something to check out if you happen to be in the neighbourhood.
Betty Macdonald in Google's Blog Search
A taste of what bloggers out there are saying about Betty!- Know it All: Ma and Pa Kettle trivia
- A: Ma and Pa Kettle were created by Betty MacDonald in her 1945 best-selling novel "The Egg and I." Two years later, a film with the same name was released starring Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray and co-starring Marjorie Main (1890-1964) and ...
- Cyndy Vanier's northern Ontario ties raise questions
- "I found it pretty astounding that a woman would go up there [to Attawapiskat] under those conditions," said Vanier's mother, Betty MacDonald. "It was pretty rough living. It certainly isn't a five-star hotel up there where she'd be staying, ...
- Golf Bag: Elks' Froehlich Event Set
- Betty MacDonald of Whispering Pines and Toni Buerkert of Lexington, SC, shot 85 (72). Paula Gentile of Greensboro and Carmen Andia of Kernersville won flight 3 with 82 (63). Rhonda Brooks and Franny Stewart of Pinehurst were third with 82 (65).
Betty Macdonald's 2008 Centenary
2008 marked the 100th anniversary of Betty's birth
Betty came into the world on March 26 of 1908. That year saw her born with many notable contemporaries including Alistair Cooke (journalist creator of 'Letter from America'), William Hartnell (the first Doctor Who), Stephane Grappelli (great jazz musician), Jackie Fields (the boxer), president Lyndon B. Johnson, comedian Milton Berle and cinema stars Rex Harrison, Jimmy Stewart and Bette Davis. I think knowing about the well-known people in Betty's generation helps give us a better idea of the times she lived in.
In commemoration of Betty Macdonald's centenary Lynne Truss (well known for her book Eats, Shoots & Leaves) put together a tribute radio program that was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2008.
I happened to catch a great centenary tribute for iconic journalist Alistair Cooke, but sadly didn't manage to hear Lynne Truss's radio show - bet it was great!
In commemoration of Betty Macdonald's centenary Lynne Truss (well known for her book Eats, Shoots & Leaves) put together a tribute radio program that was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2008.I happened to catch a great centenary tribute for iconic journalist Alistair Cooke, but sadly didn't manage to hear Lynne Truss's radio show - bet it was great!
Other Thoughts? Comments?
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crosscreations Jan 2, 2012 @ 10:28 am | delete
- WOW! A VERY impressive lens! Those bubbles in your topic guide module with links inside, now THAT is a cool trick. This retired teacher remembers Mrs. Piggle Wiggle VERY well. Betty Macdonald knows the minds of the young, how they take everything SO very literally.
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sparklenz
Mar 29, 2012 @ 5:57 am | delete
- Thanks crosscreations! The topic guide bubbles take a bit of HTML trickery to pull off but the result is so much easier to use than a big long list. I wish Mrs Piggle Wiggle had been a part of my childhood. Alas I only found her as an adult. But as a young person I was more than happy to find Betty herself! Thanks for stopping by :-)
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NYtoSCimjustme
Jan 1, 2012 @ 11:59 pm | delete
- I am so happy I stumbled upon this page. Betty MacDonald sounds like a wonderful author and I will be hunting down her work in the near future. Great job in reviewing and introducing me to what looks to be very entertaining reading. Thank You!
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sparklenz
Mar 29, 2012 @ 5:56 am | delete
- You are most welcome NYtoSCimjustme! Betty is definitely entertaining :-)
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MrDarcy
May 8, 2011 @ 9:03 pm | delete
- Great lens! 5 stars!
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