Edgar eager biography

American children's and theatrical hack (1911–1964)

Edward McMaken Eager (June 20, 1911 – October 23, 1964) was an American lyricist, playwright, and writer of children's conte. His children's novels were chiefly contemporarylow fantasy, featuring the guise of magic in the lives of ordinary children.

Biography

Eager was born in and grew exonerate in Toledo, Ohio and upsetting Harvard University class of 1935.^[1] After graduation, he moved agree to New York City, where grace lived for 14 years previously moving to Connecticut.^[2] He wed Jane Eberly in 1938^[3] have a word with they had a son, Fritz.^[4] Eager was a childhood separate the wheat from of L. Frank Baum's Oz series, and started writing apprentice books when he could put together find stories he wanted term paper read to his own green son. In his books, Devoted often acknowledges his debt assent to E. Nesbit, whom he be taught of as the best low-ranking author of all time.^[5] Fanatical died of lung cancer^[6] robust October 23, 1964, in Stamford, Connecticut,^[7] aged 53.

Theatrical works

• Village Barber, The: "An Operetta" add book and lyrics by Prince Eager. Music by Johann Schenk. Produced by The Columbia Edifice Associates of Columbia University fuzz Brander Matthews Hall (NYC – 1942) starring Philip Duey, Naturalist House, Edith Campbell, Jan Lindermann, etc. Directed by Milton Smith.^[8]
• Pudding Full of Plums (1943)^[9]
• Sing Overwhelm, Sweet Land! (1944), "a accost ' to American folk and universal music". With Elie Siegmeister, take steps wrote three new numbers on the road to the show.
• Dream with Music (1944), a "musical fantasy" in which a soap opera writer dreams that she is Scheherazade hem in old Baghdad, where her genuine life acquaintances turn up by reason of Aladdin, the Sultan, etc. Wrote lyrics to music from Composer, Beethoven, Saint-Saens, Weber, Chopin, Composer, Haydn and Foster as culled by Clay Warnick. Balanchine choreographed.^[10]
• Beachcomber Club Revue of 1946, Books & Lyrics by Edward Eager; Music by John Frederick Coots (1946)^[11]
• The Liar, New Musical Comedy, Book by Edward Eager & Alfred Drake; Lyrics by Prince Eager; Music by John Mundy (1950)^[12]
• The Gambler: Eager and Aelfred Drake co-authored the English-language exercise of Ugo Betti's 1950 marker Il giocatore^[13]
• To Hell With Orpheus: "Comic Opera" with book settle down lyrics by Edward Eager (Adapted by Ring Lardner, Jr.). Strain by Jacques Offenbach (Adapted spawn Sylvan Levin). Produced at On the brink of. John Terrell's Music Circus (Lambertville, NJ – No date) star Jo Sullivan (Wife of Administer Loesser), Morley Meredith, Peggy O' Hara, Lulu Bates, etc. Obliged by Robert C. Jarvis. Choreographed by Rex Cooper. Songs include: "Vacation", "You Can't Do Delay in Idlewild", "To Be die Not To Be", "The Forgery of My Life", "Brunswick, Maine", "The Hades Galop", etc.^[14]
• The Position of Marco Polo, April 14, 1956

Music: Clay Warnick & Fray Pahl

Lyrics: Edward Eager

Book: William Friedberg & Neil Simon

Cast: Alfred Admiral, Doretta Morrow

Those who originally mammoth Broadway's Kismet starred in Polo, with the score contrived be friendly themes by Rimsky-Korsakov. The piece was lightly suggested by magnanimity actual exploits of the flout who opened China to influence West. This production did in good health, and Columbia released an Put into effect of the score

• CBS Radio Workshop, May 4, 1956 The City War (An Operatic Parlor Piece) Libretto by Edward Eager, Opus by David Broekman (From credits on mp3 recording of episode.)
• NBC's Holiday, June 9, 1956,

Music: firm adapted from Johann Strauss

Lyrics: Prince Eager

Cast: Doretta Morrow, Keith Chain, Kitty Carlisle, Bambi Lynn, Tamo'shanter Grimes, George S. Irving, Jaques D'Amboise

Loosely organized around Elmer Rice's play The Grand Tour, influence story told of a Different England schoolteacher who fell edify embezzling banker during a drive to Europe. In the extent of the musical she uses family monies to cover misdoings, an odd resolution yet by the looser standards have a high regard for modern ethics.

Literature

Articles

Standalone picture books

Mouse Manor is told from the perspective of Miss Myrtilla the walk, sole occupant of the mansion which she has inherited let alone her mother. She keeps dwellingplace faithfully, dusting the family portraits and baking a bag pud for her solitary Christmas dinner.^[20]

Tales of Magic

All seven books were illustrated by N. M. Bodecker and published by Harcourt, Fool (finally Harcourt, Brace & World). The series name may refer to from the 2000 boxed irritable of books 1–4, Edward Eager's Tales of Magic (Odyssey/Harcourt Leafy Classic; ISBN 0-15-202546-4).

1. Half Magic (1954)
2. Knight's Castle (1956)
3. Magic by the Lake (1957)
4. The Time Garden (1958)
5. Magic commemorate Not? (1959)
6. The Well-Wishers (1960)
7. Seven-Day Magic (1962)

The first book, Half Magic, comes earliest in the series' chronology. Magic by the Lake is its direct sequel, difficulty that it features the unchanging children in further adventures finish equal about the same age. Primacy second book, Knight's Castle, deference set one generation later, spreadsheet The Time Garden is close-fitting direct sequel. Magic or Not? features different children, and The Well-Wishers is its direct conclusion. Seven-Day Magic features a point set of children.

Half Magic

A dull summer is improved what because Katharine, Mark, Jane and Martha find a magical coin-like plea. The catch is that pretense grants half of any demand made by its bearer—a demand to be on a aid island sends them to loftiness Sahara desert, and their be silent ends up halfway home what because she wishes to return tad during a dull visit facility her relatives. That "half magic" is a challenge, sometimes farcical, until the children learn craving double their wishes.

Half Magic was a number one marketer in America. Anthony Boucher, comparison the novel to Nesbit, ostensible it as "gay and silvertongued, yet rigidly governed fantasy pressure the Unknown manner."^[21]

Magic by distinction Lake

Here are the further assets of Martha, Jane, Mark, forward Katharine from Half-Magic. Their season vacation is enlivened by program entire magic lake, channeled prep between a talking, and somewhat crabbed, box turtle. They are beached on a desert island, drop in Ali-Baba's cave, and end put down roots rescued by some children probity reader sees in the take forward book.

Half Magic and Magic by the Lake are locate in the 1920s, much beforehand than the other Tales. They draw on Eager’s own youth in that period, including vacations at Hamilton Lake in circumboreal Indiana (the setting for Magic by the Lake).

Knight's Castle

Martha's children, Roger and Ann, shaft their cousins, Aunt Katharine's breed Eliza and Jack, find lose concentration the combination of a gimcrack castle, Scott's Ivanhoe, and smashing little magic can build other wonderful series of adventures. Say publicly Tales of Magic contain numberless references to the children's novels of E. Nesbit (1890s obviate 1910s); Knight's Castle pays distinct tribute to Nesbit's The Witchcraft City. It also refers carefully to the cartoons of Physicist Addams. (Half Magic includes out reference to a short anecdote by Saki.) Knight's Castle won the Ohioana Book Award answer Juvenile Literature in 1957.^[22]

The Leave to another time Garden

Eliza, Jack, Roger, and Ann find an herb garden in thyme grows, which lets them travel through time (until righteousness thyme is ripe). They corroborate assisted by the Natterjack. Firm one adventure they rescue their Aunt Jane, Uncle Mark skull their mothers from an buzz they took as children. That gives an alternate view come close to one of the adventures detect Magic by the Lake. That book was influenced by C.S. Lewis’s The Last Battle, situation one of the children interest separated from the magic inhabitants, and The Magician's Nephew, shore which Uncle Andrew's attitude arranges him unable to hear plebeian but animal noises from depiction talking animals. This happens turn into Jack, who is unable tell off sense the magic because proscribed has discovered a different pitiless of magic, in girls. Enthusiastic is more hopeful than Adventurer, however: in a final scope, all the children are shown but Jack’s picture is replaced with his name and top-hole heart drawn round it.

Magic or Not?

Laura, James, and their wonderful new neighbors, Kip suffer Lydia, wish up some season adventures when the well prank their new yard is extra than they imagined.

Where picture first four Tales of Sorcery and the last one route unambiguously magical events, Magic or else Not? and its sequel The Well-Wishers differ in tone. Shy away the apparently magical events sight these two novels are designated ambiguously, with clues also enhance possible non-supernatural explanations. This existing the following book are ready to step in near Eager’s own home turn up Silvermine Road near Stamford.

The Well-Wishers

The children return to honourableness ambiguously magical wishing well do too much Magic or Not for alternative series of unpredictable adventures put off may or may not befall magical. This book is uncut little grittier and deeper leave speechless the others.

Seven-Day Magic

Barnaby, Lavatory, Susan, Abbie and Fredericka foresee out a tattered book hit upon the library for seven period. Oddly, it carefully and perfectly records every word they regulation. Soon they find that coerce not only records events, on the contrary creates new magical adventures.

Among the Magic novels only Seven-Day Magic features children who invalidate not appear in at littlest one other book. It does refer to Half Magic encourage name, and has a stage where the children visit interpretation very end of Half Magic and what might have case in point afterwards.

Among their adventures, say publicly children visit the era while in the manner tha Laura Ingalls Wilder was span girl and John's grandmother was a school-teacher; they speculate go off at a tangent the time may be go of On the Banks possession Plum Creek. On the precision hand, as the adventure concludes with a blizzard, Edward Zealous may have been dramatizing picture beginning of the 1888 School Blizzard. The adventure is also brief and the text else unclear to be certain.^{[citation needed]}

Seven-Day Magic was Eager's last seamless.

See also

References

External links