Myrtle Reed
Encyclopedia
Myrtle Reed was an American
author, poet, journalist, and philanthropist, the daughter of author Elizabeth Armstrong Reed
and the preacher Hiram von Reed. She wrote a number of bestsellers and even published a series of cookbooks under the pseudonym Olive Green.
She was born in Illinois and graduated from the West Division High School, Chicago, Illinois where she edited the school's newspaper called "The Voice." In 1906, she married James Sydney McCullough, a Canadian pen-pal who edited a college newspaper in Toronto. She was a diagnosed insomniac with prescribed sleeping drafts. She died August 17, 1911 of an overdose of sleeping powder taken with suicidal intent in her flat, called "Paradise Flat" at 5120 Kenmore Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. Her suicide letter, written to her maid, Annie Larsen, was published the following day. Her will directed her estate be divided among 8 charities which, for several years, had been favorites of their benefactor, however her estate was subjected to at least two different lawsuits. Paradise Flat, the residence in which she died, was burgled during her funeral; among the stolen items were several de luxe or limited edition novels written by the decedant. A famous epigram of Myrtle Reed, taken from Threads of Gray and Gold: "The only way to test a man is to marry him. If you live, it's a mushroom. If you die, it's a toadstool."
of Olive Green.
The following works were published posthumously:
Autobiography
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author, poet, journalist, and philanthropist, the daughter of author Elizabeth Armstrong Reed
Elizabeth Armstrong Reed
Sophia Elizabeth Reed was an American Oriental scholar and author whose books were widely used as college textbooks in various universities worldwide for Oriental studies. Hers were, at the time, the only works by a woman accepted by the Philosophical Society of Great Britain...
and the preacher Hiram von Reed. She wrote a number of bestsellers and even published a series of cookbooks under the pseudonym Olive Green.
She was born in Illinois and graduated from the West Division High School, Chicago, Illinois where she edited the school's newspaper called "The Voice." In 1906, she married James Sydney McCullough, a Canadian pen-pal who edited a college newspaper in Toronto. She was a diagnosed insomniac with prescribed sleeping drafts. She died August 17, 1911 of an overdose of sleeping powder taken with suicidal intent in her flat, called "Paradise Flat" at 5120 Kenmore Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. Her suicide letter, written to her maid, Annie Larsen, was published the following day. Her will directed her estate be divided among 8 charities which, for several years, had been favorites of their benefactor, however her estate was subjected to at least two different lawsuits. Paradise Flat, the residence in which she died, was burgled during her funeral; among the stolen items were several de luxe or limited edition novels written by the decedant. A famous epigram of Myrtle Reed, taken from Threads of Gray and Gold: "The only way to test a man is to marry him. If you live, it's a mushroom. If you die, it's a toadstool."
Novels
- Love Letters of a Musician (1899)
- Later Love Letters of a Musician (1900)
- The Spinster Book (1901)
- Lavender and Old LaceLavender and Old LaceLavender and Old Lace is a Victorian romance novel written by Myrtle Reed and published Sep., 1902. It tells the story of some remarkable women, each of whom have a unique experience with love. The book follows in Reed’s long history of inciting laughter and tears in her readers through...
(1902; new edition, 1907), long a running play adapted by the American playwright David G. Fischer - The Shadow of Victory (1903)
- Pickaback Songs (1903)
- The Book of Clever Beasts (1904)
- The Master's Violin (1904)
- At the Sign of the Jack o' Lantern (1905), made into a silent film directed by Lloyd Ingraham in 1922
- A Spinner in the Sun (1906, new edition, 1909)
- Love Affairs of Literary Men (1907; non fiction; biographical)
- Flowers of the Dusk (1908), made into a silent film directed by John H. Collins in 1918
- Old Rose and SilverOld Rose and Silver-Summary:The novel follows the lives of Rose and her widowed Aunt, Madame Francesca Bernard, along with young visitor and cousin Isabel, whose lives are changed by the return of an old friend and neighbour Colonel Kent, and his grown son, Allison...
(1909) - Master of the Vineyard (1910; new edition, 1911)
- Sonnets to a Lover (1910)
- A Weaver of Dreams (1911), made into a silent film starring Viola Dana in 1918
- Threads of Gray and Gold (1913)
Nonfiction
She also published a series of cook books under the pseudonymPseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
of Olive Green.
- What to Have for Breakfast (1905)
- Everyday Luncheons (1906)
- How to Cook Fish (1908)
- How to Cook Meat and Poultry
- One Thousand Simple Soups (1907)
- One Thousand Salads (1909)
The following works were published posthumously:
- Everyday Desserts (1911)
- Myrtle Reed Cookbook (1916)
- Myrtle Reed Yearbook (1911)
- A Weaver of Dreams (1911)
- Threads of Grey and Gold(1913)
- The White Shield, a collection of short sketches by Myrtle Reed (1912)
- Happy Women (1913)
Autobiography
- Myrtle Reed Yearbook (1911) containing biographical forwards
Works about Reed
- Myrtle Reed As Her Friends Knew Her by Ethel S. Colson (1911)
- To You a collection of songs by J.C. Rodenbeck (1919)
- Papers, 1856-1922 by Chicago Bishop Samuel Fallows (1919) containing correspondence with Myrtle Reed