Gladys Malvern facts for kids
Gladys Malvern (born July 17, 1897 – died November 16, 1962) was an American actress and writer. She performed in vaudeville shows and on Broadway. Later, she became famous for writing many historical and biographical novels for young people. Some of her well-known books include The Foreigner, According to Thomas, and Behold Your Queen!. Her younger sister, Corinne Malvern, often worked with her on stage and illustrated her books.
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The Life of Gladys Malvern
Gladys Malvern was born in Newark, New Jersey, on July 17, 1897. Her parents were Edward and Cora Lillian Malvern. Her mother worked as a wardrobe supervisor for a theater company. Gladys grew up as a "stage child." She lived in New York, New Jersey, Virginia, and California while performing.
Early Acting Career (1900–1920)
Gladys Malvern started acting on a New York stage at just three years old. In 1908, when she was 11, Gladys appeared on Broadway in a play called The Man Who Stood Still. By 1910, Gladys and her sister Corinne were busy. They worked in traveling vaudeville shows. They also worked in the growing New York movie industry. Gladys often played the role of an ingenue, which is a young, innocent girl. Corinne played "fairies, babies, witches, and other funny little people."
By age 14, Gladys was playing main roles in traveling stock theater companies. Her fellow actors called her "the youngest stock leading woman in the business." Gladys once said about this time:
…until I was twenty-one, home to me was anywhere—hotels, trains, boarding houses; for my sister, Corinne Malvern, and I were ‘stage children.’ When I stopped being a ‘stage child,’ I became what they called an ingenue, and then a leading lady. But by this time I had decided I didn't like wandering about, and I began to think how nice it would be to have a home like other people.
Moving to Los Angeles (1921–1933)
In the 1920s, the Malvern family moved to Los Angeles. Corinne worked as a fashion artist there. Gladys started working at a department store. Later, Gladys began writing copy for advertising companies. Her sister Corinne studied art during this time.
After her first few novels became successful, Gladys moved back to New York. She lived with her sister in an apartment overlooking the Hudson River. Gladys shared her thoughts on this period:
Advertising is a very good business. I liked it immensely and stuck with it for about twelve years. But after work, being very stubborn in this matter, I continued to write. And I wrote. And I wrote. Finally—oh, after I'd torn up any number of manuscripts—I sold a book… And somehow or other I began to feel encouraged. In fact, after I'd sold three novels, I felt so brave I gave up my advertising job. We sold the lamps and the easy chairs and most of the books, and came blithely to New York.
Writing for Young Adults (1934–1962)
Gladys Malvern learned a lot about writing from her 12 years in advertising. She wrote many successful novels for young adults. These were published after she returned to New York. In 1943, Gladys Malvern wrote Curtain Going Up. This was a popular biography about the famous actress Katharine Cornell. In the same year, Malvern won an award. It was the Julia Ellsworth Ford Foundation Award for her historical novel, Valiant Minstrel: The Story of Sir Henry Lauder.
Gladys Malvern kept writing biographies about other performers. These included Joseph Jefferson, Anna Pavlova, and Rossini. She also sometimes wrote under different names, called pseudonyms. These names were Vahrah von Klopp and Sabra Lee Corbin.
In 1958, Malvern's book Behold Your Queen! was chosen as a main selection. This book tells the story of the Biblical character Esther. It was picked by the Junior Literary Guild. Malvern wrote several other Biblical stories. These include The Foreigner - A Story of Ruth, According to Thomas, Tamar, and Saul's Daughter.
Gladys Malvern never went back to acting on stage. She wrote over 40 successful historical novels. Many of them were illustrated by her sister Corinne. Corinne passed away in 1956. Gladys moved to Weston, Connecticut. She continued writing until her own death in November 1962.
Books Published After Her Death
Several of Gladys Malvern's novels were published after her death in 1971. These included The Six Wives of Henry VIII and The World of Lady Jane Grey. By 1990, most of her books were no longer being printed. They could only be found in auctions or rare book shops. In 2011, some of Malvern's books were re-issued by a publisher called Special Edition Books. In 2012, many of her titles were re-released as interactive ebooks. These were published by Beebliome Books.
