Mildred Jordan Explained

Mildred Jordan (March 18, 1901 – October 23, 1982) was an American writer and playwright. Born in Chicago, she worked at the Hull House^[1] before relocating to Reading, Pennsylvania after her marriage.^[2] Her first novel, One Red Rose Forever, which was based on the history of Lancaster County, was rejected by twenty-two publishers before finally appearing in 1941.^[3] Her subsequent books often focused on the lives of Pennsylvania Dutch immigrants to America.^[1]

Public reaction to Jordan's work was mixed. While a 1954 review of her play The Wonderful Cornelia referred to her as "one of the nation's best-known novelists",^[4] John Updike expressed a more ambivalent view of her talents several years later, dismissing her in a sentence as "an unmeetably rich industrialist's wife".^[5]

In addition to her own writing, Jordan also served as the editor of the Berks County Historical Magazine.^[6] She received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Albright College in 1979.^[7]

Jordan was represented by the literary agent Annie Laurie Williams,^[4] whose other clients included Margaret Mitchell, John Steinbeck, and Truman Capote.^[8]

Bibliography

Novels

• One Red Rose Forever (1941)
• Apple in the Attic (1942)
• The Shoo-fly Pie (1944)
• I Won't, Said the King (1945)
• Asylum for the Queen (1948)
• Miracle in Brittany (1950)
• Echo of the Flute (1958)

Plays

• The Wonderful Cornelia (1954)
• Apple in the Attic (1962) (with Lucile Logan)

Nonfiction works

• Proud to be Amish (1968)
• The Distelfink Country of the Pennsylvania Dutch (1968)

See also

• Thomas Zimmerman

Notes and References

1. News: French royalty found refuge nearby. Devlin. Ron. June 8, 2012. Reading Eagle. 2014-08-26.
2. Book: Reed, Irene. Berks County Women in History: Profiles. 2005. Tudor Gate Press. 17. 9780974094960. 2014-08-26.
3. Book: Delbanco, Nicholas. Speaking of Writing: Selected Hopwood Lectures. registration . 1990. University of Michigan Press. 117. 2014-08-26.
4. News: Mildred Jordan's Play Wins Applause of First Nighters. L.P.H.. March 25, 1954. Reading Eagle. 20. 2014-08-26.
5. News: Writers I Have Met. Updike. John. August 11, 1968. The New York Times. 2014-08-26.
6. Web site: Mildred Jordan (Bausher) 1901-1982. 2005. HGBooks.com. 2014-08-26.
7. Web site: Mildred Jordan Finding Aid. Dreese. Sydney. 2012. Albright College Archives & Special Collections. 2014-08-26.
8. Web site: Annie Laurie Williams, Literary Agent. April 11, 2013. Denison High School Alumni Association. 2014-08-26.