h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings is arguably Florida's favourite author. Like so many in the State, she relocated here from 'up north' and made it her home.

She was born on 8 August, 1896 in the city of Washington DC. Her father was an attorney who worked in the Federal Patent Office. Marjorie spent her summers on the family farm in nearby Maryland where she learned to work on the farm and the pleasures of a rural life. She started writing at a young age and had several letters and stories published in the Washington Post newspaper as a young teen.

After her father passed away in 1913, she and her mother moved to Wisconsin, to be near her mother's family, who also ran a farm. Marjorie attended the University to study drama and writing. It was there she met Charles Rawlings. She moved to New York City during World War I. In 1919 she married Charles Rawlings, who was also a writer. They spent 10 years working together at a newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky.

Then, in 1928, Marjorie's mother died and left her a small inheritance. It was enough to let her purchase a 72 acre orange grove and farm in the small settlement of Cross Creek, Florida. Her home is about a 30 minute drive north of the city of Ocala. She split her time between working the farm and writing. She also took time the to meet her neighbours and listen to their stories and gossip.

After five years living in the remote country Charles had had enough and insisted on returning to the citiy, they were divorced in 1933. Marjorie continued tending the farm and started writing about the land and her neighbours.

Her most famous novel is almost certainly 'The Yearling' which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1939. It is the story of a 12 year old boy and his pet deer. In the end he learns about the responsibilities of adulthood. Her descriptions of the land in Central Florida are almost as important as the people living there.

In her semi-biographical novel 'Cross Creek' she raised the ire of one neighbour, who she considered to be a close friend. The neighbour sued her for libel over one of the passages she felt identified her as the character in the story. Marjory won the initial case, but on appeal, the court awarded the complainant a single dollar in damages. Although she continued to write, she no longer placed any of her stories in the back country of Florida.

In 1941 she married Norton Baskin and moved into his hotel in St Augustine. She continued her writing while he managed the hotel.

On 15 December, 1953 Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings died of a cerebral haemorrhage at the Flagler Hospital in St. Augustine, Florida.

Her home in Cross Creek is open for visitors as a State Historic Site, for a modest fee you can visit and tour the cottage and barn, as well as a walk through part of the grove.

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[Amy P]

I remember the movie that was made based on "Cross Creek."

The film of 'The Yearling' is scheduled to run on TMC at 4:00 PM Sunday, at least in our market. I only saw the announcement after I had this in the can

It is a good story, if you are interested.

F S