Faith Baldwin
Encyclopedia
Faith Baldwin was a very successful U.S. author of romance
and fiction
, publishing some 100 novels, often concentrating on women juggling career and family. The New York Times
said that her books had "never a pretense at literary significance" and were popular because they "enabled lonely working people, young and old, to identify with her glamorous and wealthy characters."
Many of her books were made into films. and in the early days of television, she hosted a weekly Saturday afternoon anthology series on ABC network, entitled "Faith Baldwin Romance Theater." From 1958 to 1965, she wrote a column that was published in Woman's Day
magazine called "The Open Door." Her comments are often found in books of quotes and in web sites that offer quotes. When asked about her life philosophy, she responded that her belief was simple: "It is in God and His spirit in mankind. It is in man and his struggle. It is in the Golden Rule and in the valor of men, however ignoble their shortcomings."
In the 1960s, Faith Baldwin became familiar as one of the "guiding faculty members" of the Famous Writers School
, a heavily advertised correspondence school that drew criticism for allegedly deceptive advertising. The "faculty" included Baldwin, Bennett Cerf
, Bergen Evans
, Bruce Catton
, Mignon G. Eberhart
, John Caples, J. D. Ratliff, Mark Wiseman, Max Shulman
, Rudolf Flesch
, Red Smith
, Rod Serling
. An inattentive reader could have mistakenly inferred from the ad copy that these writers personally reviewed and critiqued student work.
She died in 1978.
Romance novel
The romance novel is a literary genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries. Novels in this genre place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Through the late...
and fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
, publishing some 100 novels, often concentrating on women juggling career and family. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
said that her books had "never a pretense at literary significance" and were popular because they "enabled lonely working people, young and old, to identify with her glamorous and wealthy characters."
Biography
She began her career writing for "women's magazines" that produced romance novels as six-part serials. In 1935, she was described as the newest of the "highly paid" women romance writers by Time magazine. Her popularity was at its peak in the 1930s, and in 1936 she earned over $300,000 (approximately equivalent to $4 million in 2005). However in the 1950s she was still going strong, with earnings over $2 million, sales over 10 million in all editions, and "one of the handful of living novelists to complete a five-foot shelf." She continued writing novels until her death in 1978.Many of her books were made into films. and in the early days of television, she hosted a weekly Saturday afternoon anthology series on ABC network, entitled "Faith Baldwin Romance Theater." From 1958 to 1965, she wrote a column that was published in Woman's Day
Woman's Day
Woman's Day is aimed at a female readership, covering such subjects as food, nutrition, fitness, beauty and fashion. The magazine edition is one of the "Seven Sisters", a group of women's service magazines....
magazine called "The Open Door." Her comments are often found in books of quotes and in web sites that offer quotes. When asked about her life philosophy, she responded that her belief was simple: "It is in God and His spirit in mankind. It is in man and his struggle. It is in the Golden Rule and in the valor of men, however ignoble their shortcomings."
In the 1960s, Faith Baldwin became familiar as one of the "guiding faculty members" of the Famous Writers School
Famous Writers School
The Famous Writers School was an educational institution that ran a correspondence course for writers in the 1960s and 1970s. Founded in 1961 by Bennett Cerf, Gordon Carroll and Albert Dorne, it became the subject of a scandal after a 1970 exposé by Jessica Mitford, who noted the school's...
, a heavily advertised correspondence school that drew criticism for allegedly deceptive advertising. The "faculty" included Baldwin, Bennett Cerf
Bennett Cerf
Bennett Alfred Cerf was a publisher and co-founder of Random House. Cerf was also known for his own compilations of jokes and puns, for regular personal appearances lecturing across the United States, and for his television appearances in the panel game show What's My Line?.-Biography:Bennett Cerf...
, Bergen Evans
Bergen Evans
Bergen Baldwin Evans was an American lexicographer, a Rhodes Scholar, a Harvard College graduate, a Northwestern University professor of English, and a television host...
, Bruce Catton
Bruce Catton
Charles Bruce Catton was an American historian and journalist, best known for his books on the American Civil War. Known as a narrative historian, Catton specialized in popular histories that emphasized colorful characters and historical vignettes, in addition to the basic facts, dates, and analyses...
, Mignon G. Eberhart
Mignon G. Eberhart
Mignon Good Eberhart was an American author of mystery novels. She had one of the longest careers among major American mystery writers.-Biography:...
, John Caples, J. D. Ratliff, Mark Wiseman, Max Shulman
Max Shulman
Max Shulman was an American writer and humorist best known for his television and short story character Dobie Gillis, as well as for best-selling novels.-Early life and career:...
, Rudolf Flesch
Rudolf Flesch
Rudolf Flesch was an author , and also a readability expert and writing consultant who was a vigorous proponent of plain English in the United States. He created the Flesch Reading Ease test and was co-creator of the Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test...
, Red Smith
Red Smith (sportswriter)
For other uses, see: Red Smith Walter Wellesley "Red" Smith was an American sportswriter who rose to become one of America's most widely read sports columnists.-Career:After graduating from Green Bay East High School, site of Packers home games until 1957, Smith moved on to...
, Rod Serling
Rod Serling
Rodman Edward "Rod" Serling was an American screenwriter, novelist, television producer, and narrator best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his science fiction anthology TV series, The Twilight Zone. Serling was active in politics, both on and off the screen and helped form...
. An inattentive reader could have mistakenly inferred from the ad copy that these writers personally reviewed and critiqued student work.
She died in 1978.
List of works
- Mavis of Green Hill (1921)
- Those Difficult Years (1925)
- Laurel of Stonystream (1923)
- Magic and Mary Rose (1924)
- Sign Posts (1924) Poems
- Thresholds (1925)
- Three Women (1926)
- Departing Wings (1927)
- Alimony (1928)
- Betty (1928)
- Rosalie’s Career (1928)
- Broadway Interlude (1929) (with Achmed Abdullah)
- Garden Oats (1929)
- Incredible Year (1929)
- Broadway Sensation (1930) (with Achmed Abdullah)
- Judy: A Story of Divine Corners (1930)
- Make-Believe (1930)
- The Office WifeThe Office WifeThe Office Wife is a 1930 American Pre-Code romantic drama film directed by Lloyd Bacon, released by Warner Bros., and based on the novel of the same name by Faith Baldwin. It was the talkie debut for Joan Blondell who would become one of the major Warner Bros...
(1930) - Babs, A Story of Devine Corners (1931)
- Mary Lou, A Story of Divine Corners (1931)
- SkyscraperSkyscraper SoulsSkyscraper Souls is a Pre-Code 1932 drama film starring Warren William and Maureen O'Sullivan. The film was directed by Edgar Selwyn and is based upon the novel Skyscraper by Faith Baldwin.-Plot:...
(1931) - Today’s Virtue (1931)
- District Nurse (1932)
- Girl On the Make (1932) (with Achmed Abdullah)
- Myra, A story of Divine Corners (1932)
- Self-Made Woman (1932)
- Weekend Marriage (1932)
- BeautyBeauty for SaleBeauty for Sale is a 1933 film about the romantic entanglements of three beauty salon employees. It stars Madge Evans, Alice Brady, and Otto Kruger. It was based on the novel Beauty by Faith Baldwin.-Cast:*Madge Evans as Letty Lawson...
(1933) - Love’s a Puzzle (1933)
- White Collar Girl (1933)
- American Family (1934)
- Honor Bound (1934)
- Innocent Bystander (1934)
- Within A Year (1934)
- Wife vs. SecretaryWife vs. SecretaryWife vs. Secretary is a comedy film directed and co-produced by Clarence Brown. It stars Clark Gable as a successful businessman, Jean Harlow as his secretary, and Myrna Loy as his wife, supported by May Robson as his mother and James Stewart, in one of his first memorable roles, as the...
(1935) - The Puritan Strain (1935)
- Men Are Such FoolsMen Are Such FoolsMen are Such Fools is a 1938 American romantic comedy film made by Warner Brothers, directed by Busby Berkeley — and starring Humphrey Bogart, Priscilla Lane, Wayne Morris, and Hugh Herbert. The story was based on a Saturday Evening Post Story by Faith Baldwin...
! (1936) - The Moon's Our HomeThe Moon's Our Home-Plot summary:A comedy about marriage and everything relating to it. A New York novelist Henry Fonda meets up with an actress, Margaret Sullavan, and the two date and later marry, though neither knows of the other's fame...
(1936) - Private Duty (1936)
- Heart Has Wings (1937)
- Manhattan Nights (1937)
- That Man Is Mine (1937)
- Twenty-Four Hours a Day (1937)
- Enchanted Oasis (1938)
- Hotel Hostess (1938)
- Rich Girl, Poor Girl (1938)
- Career By Proxy (1939)
- High Road (1939)
- Station Wagon Set (1939)
- White Magic (1939)
- Arizona Star (1940)
- Letty and the Law (1940)
- Medical Center (1940)
- Rehearsal for Love (1940)
- Something Special (1940)
- And New Stars Burn (1941)
- Heart Remembers (1941)
- Temporary Address: Reno (1941)
- Blue Horizons (1942)
- Breath of Life (1942)
- Rest of My Life With You (1942)
- Washington USA (1943)
- You Can't Escape (1943)
- Change of Heart (1944)
- He Married a Doctor (1944)
- A Job for Jenny (1945)
- No Private Heaven (1946)
- Woman on Her Way (1946)
- Give Love the Air (1947)
- Sleeping Beauty (1947)
- An Apartment for PeggyApartment for PeggyApartment for Peggy is a 1948 film about a depressed professor whose spirits are lifted when he rents part of his home to a young couple. It was based on the novelette An Apartment for Jenny by Faith Baldwin. Campus exteriors were filmed at the University of Nevada, Reno.-Plot:Jason Taylor is a...
(1948) - Marry for Money (1948)
- Golden Shoestring (1949)
- Look Out for Liza (1950)
- Tell Me My Heart (1950) UK title
- The Whole Armour (1951)
- Juniper Tree (1952)
- Widow’s Walk, Variations on a Theme (1954) Poems
- Face Towards the Spring (1956)
- Many Windows: Seasons of the Heart (1958)
- Three Faces of Love (1958)
- Blaze of sunlight (1960)
- Testament of Trust (1960)
- Harvest of Hope (1962)
- The West Wind (1963)
- Living By Faith (1964)
- Lonely Man (1964)
- The Lonely Doctor (1964)
- Search For TomorrowSearch for TomorrowSearch for Tomorrow is an American soap opera which premiered on September 3, 1951 on CBS. The show was moved from CBS to NBC on March 29, 1982. It continued on NBC until the final episode aired on December 26, 1986, a run of thirty-five years. At the time of its final broadcast it was the...
(1966) Novel based on the long running TV Serial - Evening Star (1966)
- There Is a Season (1966)
- Velvet Hammer (1969)
- Take What You Want (1971)
- Any Village (1972)
- One More Time (1972)
- No Bed of Roses (1973)
- New Girl in Town (1975)
- Time and the Hour (1975)
- Hold on to Your Heart (1976) UK title
- Thursday's Child (1976)
- Adam's Eden (1977)