William McFee explained

William McFee
Birth Name:William Morley Punshon McFee
Birth Date:1881 6, df=yes
Birth Place:London, England
Death Place:New Milford, Connecticut, United States
Occupation:Writer
Nationality:English
Period:1908–1952

William Morley Punshon McFee[1] (15 June 1881 – 2 July 1966) was an English writer of sea stories. Both of his parents were Canadian.

Early years

The son of John McFee and Hilda Wallace McFee, he was born (as was his sister) on the Erin's Isle,[2] a three-masted ship owned by his father, a sea captain, in London, England.[3] The McFee family lived in New Southgate, a northern suburb of London.[4] He was educated at Culford School, in Culford, England.

As a youth, McFee worked in an engineering shop at Aldersgate, wrote a 40-page poem, and lectured on Rudyard Kipling.

Sailing

McFee became a mechanical engineer at Richard Moreland & Sons and W. Summerscales & Sons in the City, before going to sea as a marine engineer in 1906. He rose to the rank of chief engineer in ships of the Woodfield SS Co. He migrated to the United States in 1911 and wrote books, afterwards going to sea in ships of the United Fruit Company. During World War I, McFee served in the Royal Navy as an engineer in various transport ships.

After the war, he returned to the United States to live in Roxbury, Connecticut. He was with the United Fruit Company, as a chief engineer[5] until 1924 when he turned definitively to writing.

Writing

In addition to books, he also wrote reviews for The New York Sun and The New York Times. One of his book reviews was for the novel Save Me the Waltz (1932) by Zelda Fitzgerald, in which he said, "In this book, with all its crudity of conception, its ruthless purloinings of technical tricks and its pathetic striving after philosophic profundity, there is the promise of a new and vigorous personality in fiction." Fitzgerald said that of all the negative reviews of her book, his "was at least intelligible."[6]

McFee's works included In the First Watch (1946), an autobiography, published by Random House of Canada.[7] He wrote several collections of memoirs. His hobby was making ship models.

Personal life

While in the navy, McFee met Pauline Khondoff, a Bulgarian refugee. The couple wed in 1920, but divorced in 1932.[8] He was married twice more, first to Beatrice Allender who died in 1952 and then to Dorothy North.

McFee became a United States citizen in 1925.[9]

Recognition

In 1936, Yale University conferred an honorary Master of Arts degree on McFee.[10]

Works

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. Leatherby. James Norman. William McFee: Writing Engineer. Prairie Schooner. Summer 1949. 23. 2. 171–180. 40624100. University of Nebraska Press.
  2. News: Young. Villette. He's Landlocked by Choice in Connecticut. Hartford Courant. May 24, 1953. Connecticut, Hartford. The Hartford Courant Magazine - 7. Newspapers.com. May 6, 2018.
  3. Book: McCulloch, John Herries. A Million Miles in Sail. Hurst and Blackwell. 1933. London. 23.
  4. News: Hubbard. Jonathan. England Discovers A Rare Genius In William McFee. The Evening Sun. September 9, 1916. Maryland, Baltimore. 4. Newspapers.com. May 6, 2018.
  5. Web site: William McFee Papers. Special Collections Research Center. Syracuse University. en. 10 April 2018.
  6. Book: Milford, Nancy. Zelda: A Biography. Harper & Row. 1970. 9780060910693. New York. 263.
  7. News: Autoiography Of Sea Writer. The Winnipeg Tribune. September 21, 1946. Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba. 9. Newspapers.com. May 6, 2018.
  8. News: William McFee Gets Divorce. The St. Louis Star and Times. United Press. February 20, 1932. Missouri, St. Louis. 5. Newspapers.com. May 6, 2018.
  9. News: William McFee, 85, Dies; Author, Seaman, Engineer. Hartford Courant. July 4, 1966. Connecticut, Hartford. 1. Newspapers.com. May 6, 2018.
  10. News: Sinclair Lewis Gets Honorary Yale Degree. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Associated Press. June 17, 1936. Missouri, St. Louis. 23. Newspapers.com. May 6, 2018.

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