Margaret Ayer Barnes facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Margaret Ayer Barnes
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Barnes on her graduation day in 1907
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| Born |
Margaret Ayer
April 8, 1886 |
| Died | October 25, 1967 (aged 81) Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
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| Education | Bryn Mawr College (BA) |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Spouse(s) |
Cecil Barnes
(m. 1910) |
| Children | 3, including Edward |
Margaret Ayer Barnes (born April 8, 1886, in Chicago, Illinois; died October 25, 1967, in Cambridge, Massachusetts) was a talented American writer. She wrote plays for the theater, novels, and short stories. She even won the famous Pulitzer Prize for her writing!
Contents
The Early Life of Margaret Ayer Barnes
Margaret Ayer grew up in Chicago, Illinois. She was the youngest of four children. From a young age, she loved theater and reading. She became friends with Edward Sheldon, who was a playwright. He later encouraged her to become a writer herself.
Margaret went to Bryn Mawr College, a well-known school. She earned her degree there in 1907. Later, in 1936, she received an honorary degree from Oglethorpe University. In 1910, she married Cecil Barnes. They had three sons together.
Helping Others: The Bryn Mawr Summer School
In 1920, Margaret Barnes was chosen to be the alumnae director for Bryn Mawr College. She held this role for three years. During this time, she helped create something special: the Bryn Mawr Summer School for Women Workers in Industry.
This school offered a different kind of education. It was for young, single immigrant women who worked in factories. Many of them had not had much schooling. The summer program taught them about liberal arts, economics, and how to think for themselves. It also helped these women become more confident. They learned to speak, write, and become leaders in their workplaces.
Becoming a Writer
In 1926, when Margaret was 40 years old, she had a car accident. She broke her back and needed time to recover. Her friend, playwright Edward Sheldon, suggested she try writing to pass the time.
This was a turning point for her! Between 1926 and 1930, she wrote many short stories. These stories were published in magazines. Later, they were collected into a book called Prevailing Winds. She also wrote three plays during this time.
Her first play was based on a famous novel by Edith Wharton, called The Age of Innocence. A famous actress named Katharine Cornell bought the play in 1928. It was shown on Broadway and ran for 207 performances! This means it was very popular.
Margaret also wrote another play with Edward Sheldon called Dishonored Lady (1930). Katharine Cornell starred in this play too. It was a popular drama that ran for 16 weeks on Broadway.
In 1929, Barnes wrote a comedy play called Jenny. She worked on this play with Edward Sheldon as well. It was also shown on Broadway.
Winning the Pulitzer Prize
In 1931, Margaret Ayer Barnes achieved a huge honor. She won the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel for her very first novel, Years of Grace. The Pulitzer Prize is one of the most important awards for writers in the United States.
There was also a legal case involving her play Dishonored Lady. In 1936, she sued a movie studio called Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). She claimed that their movie Letty Lynton (1932) copied parts of her play. Because of this lawsuit, the movie Letty Lynton is still not available to watch today.
Family and Later Years
Margaret Barnes was married to Cecil Barnes, a well-known lawyer from Chicago. They had three sons. One of their sons, Edward Larrabee Barnes, became a famous architect. Margaret's older sister, Janet Ayer Fairbank, was also a writer and a suffragette. Her niece, Janet Fairbank, was a famous opera singer.
Margaret Ayer Barnes passed away on October 25, 1967. She was 81 years old and died at her home in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Her Amazing Books and Plays
Here are some of the plays and books Margaret Ayer Barnes wrote:
- The Age of Innocence (1928): This was a play she wrote based on a famous novel.
- Jenny (1929): A play she wrote with Edward Sheldon.
- Dishonored Lady (1930): Another play she wrote with Edward Sheldon.
- Prevailing Winds (1928): This was a collection of her short stories.
- Years of Grace (1930): Her first novel, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
- Westward Passage (1931): A novel that was later made into a movie.
- Within This Present (1933): A novel.
- Edna, His Wife (1935): A novel that was later turned into a play.
- Wisdom's Gate (1938): A novel.
