Maud Hart Lovelace

Maud Hart Lovelace

Maud Hart Lovelace (April 25, 1892 – March 11, 1980) was an American author best known for the Betsy-Tacy series.

Early life

Childhood home of Maud Hart Lovelace, now a museum, at 214 Center Street, Mankato, Minnesota

Maud Palmer Hart was born in Mankato, Minnesota to Tom Hart, a shoe store owner, and his wife, Stella (née Palmer). Maud was the middle child; her sisters were Kathleen (Julia in the Betsy-Tacy books) and Helen (book character, Margaret). Maud reportedly started writing as soon as she could hold a pencil. She wrote in her high school's essay contest during her junior and senior years. She was baptized in a Baptist church, but joined the Episcopal church as a teenager. She went on to the University of Minnesota but took a leave of absence to go to California to recover from an appendectomy at her maternal grandmother's home. It was while in California that she made her first short story sale – to the Los Angeles Times Magazine. She returned to the university and worked for the Minnesota Daily. She did not graduate from college.^{[citation needed]}

While spending a year in Europe in 1914, she met Paolo Conte, an Italian musician (who later inspired the character Marco in Betsy and the Great World). She married Delos Lovelace when she was twenty-five years old. Delos and Maud met in April 1917 and were married on Thanksgiving Day the same year. They lived apart until 1919, however, due to Delos' military service in the First World War.^{[citation needed]}

They divided their time between Minneapolis and New York (including Yonkers and Mount Vernon) for several years. After 1928, they lived in New York permanently until their retirement in Claremont, California. They had one daughter, Merian (later Mrs. Kirchner; January 18, 1931—September 25, 1997), who was named for Delos's friend, Merian C. Cooper. (Delos had written the novelization of the film King Kong, directed by Cooper.)^[1]

Literary career

Her first book was The Black Angels, which was published in 1926 and is a historical novel set in Minnesota. She wrote several more historical novels, including the successful Early Candlelight in 1929.

She is best known for her books for children. The Betsy-Tacy series started in 1938 after Lovelace told stories about her childhood to her own daughter Merian. The first book in the series, Betsy-Tacy, was published in 1940, and the last book, Betsy's Wedding, was published in 1955. The first four books increase in reading difficulty so that the child can grow up along with Betsy-Tacy. The Betsy-Tacy books take place mostly in the fictional town of Deep Valley, Minnesota, which is based on Mankato. There are also three loosely connected books set in Deep Valley: Winona's Pony Cart Emily of Deep Valley and Carney's House Party, in which Betsy and Tacy have minor roles. The series has been enduringly popular. The city of Mankato declared Betsy-Tacy Day on October 7, 1961.^{[citation needed]}

Death

Lovelace spent her later years in California, where she died in 1980. She is buried in the Glenwood Cemetery in Mankato, with a monument dedicated to her.

Legacy

The Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award was established in 1980. Each year, a group of nominees are chosen in two categories: grades 3–5 and grades 6–8. Children who have read at least three books in the relevant category cast a vote for their favorite. Details about her life and work can be found in The Betsy-Tacy Companion by Sharla Whalen.

Bibliography

• The Black Angels (1926)
• Early Candlelight (1929)
• Petticoat Court (1930)
• The Charming Sally (1932)
• One Stayed At Welcome (1934, with Delos Lovelace)
• Gentlemen From England (1937, with Delos Lovelace)
• The Golden Wedge Indian Legends of South America (1942, with Delos Lovelace)
• The Tune Is In The Tree (1950)
• The Trees Kneel At Christmas (1951)
• What Cabrillo Found (1958)
• The Valentine Box (1966)

Betsy-Tacy series

• Betsy-Tacy (1940)
• Betsy-Tacy and Tib (1941)
• Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill (1942)
• Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown (1943)
• Heaven to Betsy (1945)
• Betsy in Spite of Herself (1946)
• Betsy Was a Junior (1947)
• Betsy and Joe (1948)
• Betsy and the Great World (1952)
• Betsy's Wedding (1955)

Deep Valley series

• Carney's House Party (1949)
• Emily of Deep Valley (1950)
• Winona's Pony Cart (1953)

Short Stories^{[2] [3]}

• Auction (with Delos W. Lovelace), (ss) The Country Gentleman Aug 2 1924
• Borghild’s Clothes (with Delos W. Lovelace), (ss) The Modern Priscilla Apr 1922
• Carcassonne Flyer, (ss) Sunset Magazine Apr 1925
• Carmelita, Widow (with Delos W. Lovelace), (ss) Catholic World Oct 1924
• East Wind (with Delos W. Lovelace), (ss) The Country Gentleman Apr 26 1924
• Land (with Delos W. Lovelace), (ss) Liberty Aug 9 1924
• Laughing Tyrant (with Delos W. Lovelace), (ss) The Country Gentleman Mar 29 1924
• Little White Lamb,The, (ss) The Delineator Jun 1924
• Love’s Daily Dozen, (ss) The Delineator Aug 1925
• Maid and the Hope Chest, The, (ss) (with Delos W. Lovelace) Metropolitan Magazine May 1924
• Neighbors (with Delos W. Lovelace), (ss) The Country Gentleman Sep 27 1924
• One Day to Live (with Delos W. Lovelace), (ss) The Delineator Oct 1925

References

1. ^ New York Times notice of the death of Mrs. Merian Kirchner, daughter of Delos and Maud Lovelace in 1997, aged 66
2. ^ http://www.philsp.com/homeville/fmi/s1620.htm#A57326
3. ^ http://www.philsp.com/homeville/HanniganV2/s121.htm#A4295

External links

• The Betsy-Tacy Society
• Maud Hart Lovelace's Deep Valley
• Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award, from Minnesota Youth Reading Awards
• Maud Hart Lovelace page at Minnesota State University
• Maud Hart Lovelace at Minnesota Author Biographies Project
• Maud Hart Lovelace History Player in the Classroom, from the Minnesota Historical Society

Persondata
Name	Lovelace, Maud Hart
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	April 25, 1892
Place of birth
Date of death	March 11, 1980
Place of death