Ida M. Evans Explained

Ida M. Evans
Birth Place:	Red Oak, Iowa
Occupation:	Writer

Ida M. Evans (born about 1886 – died after 1944) was an American short story writer most successful in the 1910s and 1920s. Several of her stories were adapted for the screen in the 1910s.

Early life

Ida May Evans was born in Red Oak, Iowa. In the 1890s she attended and taught at her grandfather's school short-lived school,^[1] Hamilton White College in Lebanon, Missouri.^{[2] [3]}

Career

Evans worked in "wholesale millinery houses" in Chicago and Omaha when she began writing.^[4] Her first stories began appearing in print in 1911.^[5] "I was mighty careful to keep working at the wholesale houses for my bread and butter, until my stories began to sell fast enough to provide plenty of butter" she explained in 1918. She wrote short stories for national publications including American Magazine,^[6] Everybody's,^[7] McClure's,^[8] Good Housekeeping,^[9] Red Book,^[10] Hearst's International,^[11] Cosmopolitan,^[12] The Saturday Evening Post,^[13] and The Green Book Magazine.^[14] Her story "On the Banks of Wabash Avenue" (1918, Good Housekeeping) was illustrated by James Montgomery Flagg.^[15]

Several of Evans's stories were adapted for the screen as silent films: A Question of Hats and Gowns (1914, from "Town Pumps and Gold Leaf"),^[16] Virginia (1916, short), It Makes a Difference (1917, short), Limousine Life (1918),^[17] The Way of a Man with a Maid (1918),^{[18] [19]} and The Path She Chose (1920, based on the same story as Virginia). Other stories were bought for screen adaptation,^[20] and "Marry in Haste", was adapted in 1935 by Lockie Ingle.^[21]

Some sources conflate Ida M. Evans and Ida M. Adams, an actress and singer flourishing in the same period.^[22] There is no mention of a stage or music career in biographical notes about or by this author.^{[23] [24] [25]}

Selected stories by Ida M. Evans

• "A Pink Feather" (1913, Red Book)
• "The Girl Who Came Back" (1913, Red Book)^[26]
• "Out of the Frying Pan" (1914, Red Book)^[27]
• "The Home that Eva Furnished" (1914, Red Book)^[28]
• "Being Kind to Anne" (1916, Green Book)
• "Marthy" (1916, Red Book)^[29]
• "Brew of Ashes" (1917, McClure's)
• "On the Banks of Wabash Avenue" (1918, Good Housekeeping)
• "The Old Order Changeth" (1918, Red Book)^[30]
• "The Lonesome Club" (1918, Red Book)^[31]
• "Omelets for Violets" (1918, American Magazine)
• "Ethel Lavvander's Husband" (1918, Everybody's)
• "Violet Eyes" (1919, Cosmopolitan)^[32]
• "The Heavy Mantle of Helen" (1919, Good Housekeeping)^[33]
• "Golden Apples" (1920, Green Book)^[34]
• "The Eternal Biangle" (1920, Good Housekeeping)
• "Yellows" (1921, Good Housekeeping)^[35]
• "Her Place in the Sun" (1921, Cosmopolitan)^[36]
• "Monday for the World" (1922, Cosmopolitan)
• "The Jazz Jessalyns" (1923, Red Book, also serialized in 1924, Washington Star)^{[37] [38]}
• "Natalie Comes Through" (1923, Red Book)^[39]
• "On the Hip" (1924, Red Book)^[40]
• "The Fifth Estate" (1924, Hearst's International)
• "And They Called Him a Fool" (1926, Hearst's International)^[41]
• "The Bitter Samaritan" (1927, Hardin Tribune-Herald)^[42]
• "Pavilion Queen" (1927, The Country Gentleman)
• "The Night Club Hostess" (1929, Red Book)^[43]
• "Dollar Babies" (1930, Hearst's International)^[44]
• "Pearls for Marguery Nolan" (1931, St. Louis Globe Democrat)^[45]
• "Chinnon Descendant and the Law" (1934, The News and Observer)
• "Dolls and Drums" (1935, The News and Observer)
• "Bird of Passage" (1942, Pittsburgh-Sun-Telegraph)^[46]
• "The Christmas Star is White" (1942, The News and Observer)^[47]
• "House of Gloom" (1944, Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph)^[48]
• "House Party" (1949, Mirror News)^[49]

Personal life

Evans lived in Chicago and Los Angeles.

Notes and References

1. Book: Laclede County Genealogical Society. Laclede County, Missouri: History and Families. 2000. Turner Publishing Company. 978-1-56311-549-3. en.
2. June 1918. We Have With Us. Good Housekeeping. 66. 134–135.
3. News: Evans. Ida M.. 1934-08-05. Chinnon Descendant and the Law. 31. The News and Observer. 2021-09-07. Newspapers.com.
4. News: Evans. Ida M.. 1935-12-15. Dolls and Drums. 38. The News and Observer. 2021-09-07. Newspapers.com.
5. Web site: Stories, Listed by Author: Ida M. Evans. 2021-09-07. The General Fiction Magazine Index.
6. Evans. Ida M.. January 1918. Omelets for Violets. American Magazine. 85. 13–15, 78.
7. Evans. Ida M.. December 1918. Ethel Lavvander's Husband. Everybody's Magazine. 39. 30–34, 63.
8. Evans. Ida M.. April 1917. Brew of Ashes. McClure's Magazine. 48. 14-16, continued.
9. Evans. Ida M.. February 1920. The Eternal Biangle. Good Housekeeping. 70. 33–35, 213.
10. Evans. Ida M.. October 1913. A Pink Feather. Redbook. 18. 1126–1137.
11. Evans. Ida M.. June 1924. The Fifth Estate. Hearst's International. 45. 39–41, 135.
12. Evans. Ida M.. May 1922. Monday for the World. The Cosmopolitan. 72. 53–57, 100.
13. Evans. Ida M.. July 22, 1922. A 'Character-Genesis' Story. The Editor. 58. 29.
14. Evans. Ida M.. September 1916. Being Kind to Anne. The Green Book Magazine. 16. 502–512.
15. Evans. Ida M.. June 1918. On the Banks of Wabash Avenue. Good Housekeeping. 66. 38–41, 161.
16. May 1, 1914. Edison Releases since March 1, 1914. The Edison Kinetogram. 8. 17.
17. January 5, 1918. Triangle Finishes Two New Stories. Motography. 19. 27.
18. Book: Sigler, Lora Ann. Clothes Make the Character: The Role of Wardrobe in Early Motion Pictures. 2021-02-01. McFarland. 978-1-4766-4216-1. 32–33. en.
19. News: 1919-04-16. 'That's the Story!' Quoth Mr. Washburn. 5. The Champaign Daily News. 2021-09-07. Newspapers.com.
20. News: 1927-10-11. First National Buys Stories. 28. The Los Angeles Times. 2021-09-08. Newspapers.com.
21. Book: Office, Library of Congress Copyright. Catalog of Copyright Entries. Part 1. [C] Group 3. Dramatic Composition and Motion Pictures. New Series]. 1938. 13. en.
22. Book: Vogel, Michelle. Olive Thomas: The Life and Death of a Silent Film Beauty. 2014-11-29. McFarland. 978-0-7864-5526-3. 162–163. en.
23. January 1913. Writers of the Day. The Writer. 25. 57.
24. August 1, 1917. Contemporary Writers and their Work. The Editor. 46. 141.
25. Evans. Ida M.. July 21, 1917. Who's Who and Why. The Saturday Evening Post. 190. 23, 82.
26. Evans. Ida M.. November 1913. The Girl Who Came Back. Red Book Magazine. 22. 91–100. ProQuest.
27. Evans. Ida M.. September 1914. Out of the Frying Pan. Red Book Magazine. 23. 897–906. ProQuest.
28. Evans. Ida M.. May 1914. The Home that Eva Furnished. Red Book. 23. 133–144. ProQuest.
29. Web site: May 1916. Contents Lists: The Red Book Magazine. 2021-09-07. The General Fiction Magazine Index.
30. Evans. Ida M.. November 1918. The Old Order Changeth. Red Book Magazine. 32. 31-36, 150-153. ProQuest.
31. Evans. Ida M.. August 1918. The Lonesome Order Changeth. Red Book Magazine. 31. 87-92, 124, 127-128. ProQuest.
32. Evans. Ida M.. July 1919. Violet Eyes. Cosmopolitan. 67. 59-64, 121-122, 124, 126, 128. ProQuest.
33. News: 1919-09-18. Good Housekeeping for September. 4. The Garnett Review. 2021-09-07. Newspapers.com.
34. Evans. Ida M.. January 1920. Golden Apples. The Green Book Magazine. 23. 65–70.
35. Evans. Ida M.. November 1921. Yellows. Good Housekeeping. 73. 52-55, 132-136. ProQuest.
36. Evans. Ida M.. January 1921. Her Place in the Sun. Cosmopolitan. 70. 53-57, 90, 92, 94, 96. ProQuest.
37. Evans. Ida M.. October 1923. The Jazz Jessalyns. Red Book Magazine. 41. 66-71, 170, 172, 174, 176, 178. ProQuest.
38. Book: Ida M. Evans. The Jazz Jessalyns.
39. Evans. Ida M.. July 1924. Natalie Comes Through. Red Book Magazine. 43. 66, 66a, 67-70, 136-137, 139-140. ProQuest.
40. Evans. Ida M.. January 1924. On the Hip. Red Book. 42. 76-81, 126, 128-130. ProQuest.
41. Evans. Ida M.. June 1926. And They Called Him a Fool. Hearst's International. 80. 98–99.
42. Evans. Ida M.. September 16, 1927. The Bitter Samaritan. Hardin Tribune-Herald. 7. NewspaperArchive.com.
43. Evans. Ida M.. April 1929. The Night Club Hostess. Red Book Magazine. 52. 90–93. Internet Archive.
44. Evans. Ida M.. April 1930. Dollar Babies. Hearst's International. 88. 70-73, 189-194. ProQuest.
45. News: Evans. Ida M.. 1931-08-30. Pearls for Marguery Nolan. 52. St. Louis Globe-Democrat. 2021-09-07. Newspapers.com.
46. News: Evans. Ida M.. 1942-01-24. Bird of Passage. 16. Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. 2021-09-07. Newspapers.com.
47. News: Evans. Ida M.. 1942-12-13. The Christmas Star is White. 18. The News and Observer. 2021-09-07. Newspapers.com.
48. News: Evans. Ida M.. 1944-11-13. House of Gloom. 16. Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. 2021-09-07. Newspapers.com.
49. News: Evans. Ida M.. 1949-12-10. House Party. 44. Mirror News. 2021-09-08.