Edward Streeter

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Edward Streeter (August 1, 1891 - March 31, 1976) was an American novelist and journalist, best known for the novel Father of the Bride and his Dere Mable series.

Streeter began his career as a reporter for the Buffalo, New York newspaper the Buffalo Express as a war correspondent and travel writer. He grew in notoriety with his "Dere Mable" letters, a humorous column from an illiterate soldier writing home. Serialized between 1917 and 1919 in the "Gas Attack", they were inspired by Streeter's time spent on an army base (Camp Wadsworth, near Spartansburg SC) during World War I. The humorous letters were compiled in 1919 in Streeter's first full-length book Dere Mabel.

After returning home from the war, Streeter pursued writing casually, deciding to focus on his work as a businessman. For eight years he served as assistant vice president, before transitioning to the Fifth Avenue Bank in New York City, where he served as vice president for twenty-five years.

While serving as VP of the Fifth Avenue Bank, Streeter published short stories and articles in magazines such as the Saturday Evening Post and McCall's. In 1938, he published his first novel, Daily Except Sundays. He waited another eleven years, however, before publishing his next novel. Published in 1949, the comic satire Father of the Bride became an instant bestseller and was listed among The New York Times list of bestselling novels for the year. The following year, it was adapted into a successful film starring Spencer Tracy and Elizabeth Taylor.

After his breakthrough success, Streeter continued to write successful novels. Of the most notable of his subsequent works are Mr. Hobbs' Vacation (1954, filmed in 1962), Merry Christmas, Mr. Baxter (1956), and Chairman of the Bored (1961). He finished his writing career with 1969's grim semi-autobiographical Ham Martin, Class of '17. Streeter died on March 31, 1976.