Edith Ogden Harrison facts for kids
Edith Ogden Harrison (born November 16, 1862 – died May 22, 1955) was a famous American author. She wrote many popular children's books and fairy tales in the early 1900s. She was also married to Carter Harrison, Jr., who was the mayor of Chicago five times.
Who Was Edith Ogden Harrison?
Edith Ogden was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her parents were Robert N. Ogden, Jr. and Sarah L Beattie. She grew up in a cultured family. On December 14, 1887, she married Carter Harrison. They had two children who lived: Carter Henry Harrison V, born in 1891, and Edith Ogden Harrison II, born in 1896. The couple celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1937.
Edith's Writing Career
At first, Edith O. Harrison focused on writing books for children. Later, she wrote books about her travels and her own life story.
One of her early books, Prince Silverwings, was almost turned into a play. A family friend, L. Frank Baum (who wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz), adapted it for the stage. However, the play never opened. This was because all Chicago theaters closed after a terrible fire in 1903. Some ideas from Edith's book may have even influenced Baum's own famous stories.
Edith and L. Frank Baum also tried for many years to create a children's theater in Chicago. They worked on this project until at least 1915, but it never became a reality.
In 1915, Edith's 1912 novel, The Lady of the Snows, was made into a film with the same name.
Edith Ogden Harrison's Books
Here are some of the books Edith Ogden Harrison wrote:
- Prince Silverwings and other fairy tales, illustrated by Lucy Fitch Perkins (1902)
- The Star Fairies and other fairy tales, illustrated by Lucy Fitch Perkins (1903)
- The Moon Princess, a fairy tale, illustrated by Lucy Fitch Perkins (1905)
- The Flaming Sword and other legends of the earth and sky, illustrated by Lucy Fitch Perkins (1908)
- Ladder of Moonlight; Cotton Myth, illustrated by Lucy Fitch Perkins (1909) – These were Bible stories retold for kids.
- The Mocking-bird; Sunrise and Sunset, illustrated by Lucy Fitch Perkins (1909) – More Bible stories for children.
- Polar Star; Aurora Borealis, illustrated by Lucy Fitch Perkins (1909) – And more Bible stories for children.
- Princess Sayrane: a romance of the days of Prester John, illustrated by Harold H. Betts (1910)
- The Glittering Festival, illustrated by Clara Powers Wilson (1911)
- The Lady of the Snows, illustrated by J. Allen St. John (1912)
- The Enchanted House and other fairy stories , illustrated by Frederick Richardson (1913)
- Clemencia's Crisis, illustrated by Fred J. Arting (1915)
- Below the Equator: the story of a tour through the countries of South America (1918)
- All the Way 'Round: the story of a fourteen months' trip around the world (1922)
- Lands of the Sun: Impressions of a visit to tropical lands (1925)
- Gray Moss (1929)
- The Scarlet Riders (1930)
- "Strange to Say": Recollections of persons and events in New Orleans and Chicago (1949)
