Dorothy Langley
Encyclopedia
Dorothy Langley was the pseudonym
of Dorothy Selma Richardson Kissling, (February 14, 1904 – April 1, 1969) an American novel
ist. She won the Friends of American Writers award for the best novel by a Midwestern writer for Dark Medallion (1945).
, Brownsville
, Texas, where her father was serving with the US Army. Her parents died when she was two, and she was raised in Bloomfield, Missouri
by her two grandmothers.
She attended Southeast Missouri State College
where she met and married Robert C. Kissling, who was her Latin professor. The couple lived in Boulder, Colorado
, where Kissling was on the faculty of University of Colorado at Boulder
and in Valparaiso, Indiana, where he taught at Valparaiso University
, before settling in Chicago
, Illinois
. The couple had a son, Robert Richardson Kissling, and a daughter, Dorothy Selma Kissling.
She worked as a member of the editorial staffs of a number of professional associations, including the American Medical Association
, the National Congress of Parents and Teachers, and the International College of Surgeons.
She died in 1969.
, and other journals, and she edited the Muse Anthology of Modern Poetry (1938) with Arthur H. Nethercot. She also wrote occasional book reviews under this name for the Chicago Tribune
.
She published three novels as Dorothy Langley between 1944 and 1947. Wait for Mrs. Willard (1944) was about a woman who takes advantage of an injury in a bus accident as the means to escape from a dominating husband. She submitted the manuscript of Swamp Angel, a novel set among the poor country people living around Bloomfield, Missouri
that she had written during the 1920s, to Simon and Schuster. But the publisher rejected the work as "too depressing" and she substantially rewrote the work, shifting the focus of the story to an aristocratic family in decline. The revised work was published as Dark Medallion in 1945. Mr. Bremble's Buttons, about a hen-pecked husband who escapes from his troubles in conversations with God, was published in 1947.
As Dorothy Langley, she also published one children's book, The Hoogles and Alexander (1948), which was illustrated by Cecil Smith. The book was a fairy tale about a wise rabbit named Alexander who leads twins named Peter and Penny into a fantastic land called Dreamwood.
After her death, Kissling/Langley's friend Helen Bugbee founded the Traumwald Press—named after the land in The Hoogles and Alexander--and published two of her works posthumously: Fool's Mate, a sonnet sequence (1970); and Tom Sawyer Comes Home (1973), a novel sequel
to Tom Sawyer
.
Bugbee also contributed an introduction to the 1982 publication of the original version of Swamp Angel by Academy Chicago Publishers.
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
of Dorothy Selma Richardson Kissling, (February 14, 1904 – April 1, 1969) an American novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
ist. She won the Friends of American Writers award for the best novel by a Midwestern writer for Dark Medallion (1945).
Life
Dorothy Selma Richardson was born on February 14, 1904 at Fort BrownFort Brown
Fort Brown was a military post of the United States Army in Texas during the later half of 19th century and the early part of the 20th century.-Early years:...
, Brownsville
Brownsville
Brownsville may refer to:United States*Brownsville, California , the name of several places*Brownsville, Florida**Brownsville , located at the above location...
, Texas, where her father was serving with the US Army. Her parents died when she was two, and she was raised in Bloomfield, Missouri
Bloomfield, Missouri
Bloomfield is a city in Stoddard County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,952 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Stoddard County.-Geography:Bloomfield is located at...
by her two grandmothers.
She attended Southeast Missouri State College
Southeast Missouri State University
Southeast Missouri State University, is a public, accredited university located in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, United States, near the banks of the Mississippi River. The institution, having started as a normal school, has a traditional strength in teacher education...
where she met and married Robert C. Kissling, who was her Latin professor. The couple lived in Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
, where Kissling was on the faculty of University of Colorado at Boulder
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
and in Valparaiso, Indiana, where he taught at Valparaiso University
Valparaiso University
Valparaiso University, known colloquially as Valpo, is a regionally accredited private university located in the city of Valparaiso in the U.S. state of Indiana. Founded in 1859, it consists of five undergraduate colleges, a graduate school, a nursing school and a law school...
, before settling in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. The couple had a son, Robert Richardson Kissling, and a daughter, Dorothy Selma Kissling.
She worked as a member of the editorial staffs of a number of professional associations, including the American Medical Association
American Medical Association
The American Medical Association , founded in 1847 and incorporated in 1897, is the largest association of medical doctors and medical students in the United States.-Scope and operations:...
, the National Congress of Parents and Teachers, and the International College of Surgeons.
She died in 1969.
Works
She wrote poetry under the name of Dorothy Kissling. Her poems were published in the American Mercury, the Chicago TribuneChicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
, and other journals, and she edited the Muse Anthology of Modern Poetry (1938) with Arthur H. Nethercot. She also wrote occasional book reviews under this name for the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
.
She published three novels as Dorothy Langley between 1944 and 1947. Wait for Mrs. Willard (1944) was about a woman who takes advantage of an injury in a bus accident as the means to escape from a dominating husband. She submitted the manuscript of Swamp Angel, a novel set among the poor country people living around Bloomfield, Missouri
Bloomfield, Missouri
Bloomfield is a city in Stoddard County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,952 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Stoddard County.-Geography:Bloomfield is located at...
that she had written during the 1920s, to Simon and Schuster. But the publisher rejected the work as "too depressing" and she substantially rewrote the work, shifting the focus of the story to an aristocratic family in decline. The revised work was published as Dark Medallion in 1945. Mr. Bremble's Buttons, about a hen-pecked husband who escapes from his troubles in conversations with God, was published in 1947.
As Dorothy Langley, she also published one children's book, The Hoogles and Alexander (1948), which was illustrated by Cecil Smith. The book was a fairy tale about a wise rabbit named Alexander who leads twins named Peter and Penny into a fantastic land called Dreamwood.
After her death, Kissling/Langley's friend Helen Bugbee founded the Traumwald Press—named after the land in The Hoogles and Alexander--and published two of her works posthumously: Fool's Mate, a sonnet sequence (1970); and Tom Sawyer Comes Home (1973), a novel sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to Tom Sawyer
Tom Sawyer
Thomas "Tom" Sawyer is the title character of the Mark Twain novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer . He appears in three other novels by Twain: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , Tom Sawyer Abroad , and Tom Sawyer, Detective .Sawyer also appears in at least three unfinished Twain works, Huck and Tom...
.
Bugbee also contributed an introduction to the 1982 publication of the original version of Swamp Angel by Academy Chicago Publishers.
External links
- Text of Wait for Mrs. Willard at the Internet Archive
- Text of Mr. Bremble's Buttons, at the Internet Archive
- Review of Wait for Mrs. Willard, at the Neglected Books Page