Faith Baldwin

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Faith Baldwin
Born October 1, 1893(1893-10-01)
New Rochelle, New York
Died March 18, 1978 (aged 84)
Norwalk, Connecticut
Occupation Novelist
Nationality American
Writing period 1920s—1970s
Genres romance, women's fiction

Faith Baldwin (b. October 1, 1893, New Rochelle, New York – d. March 18, 1978, Norwalk, Connecticut) was a very successful U.S. author of romance and fiction, publishing some 100 novels [1], often concentrating on women juggling career and family. The New York Times said that her books had "never a pretense at literary significance" and were popular because they "enabled lonely working people, young and old, to identify with her glamorous and wealthy characters."[2]

She apparently began her career writing for "women's magazines" that produced romance novels as six-part serials.[3] In 1935, she was described as the newest of the "highly paid" women romance writers by Time magazine. [4] Her popularity was at its peak in the 1930s, and in 1936 she earned over $300,000 (approximately equivalent to $4 million in 2005).[5] However in the 1950s she was still going strong, with earnings over $2 million, sales over 10 million in all editions, and "one of the handful of living novelists to complete a five-foot shelf." [6] She continued writing novels until her death in 1978.

Many of her books were made into films. [7] and in the early days of television, she hosted a weekly Saturday afternoon anthology series on ABC network, entitled "Faith Baldwin Romance Theater." [8] [9] From 1958 to 1965, she wrote a column that was published in Woman's Day magazine called "The Open Door." [10] Her comments are often found in books of quotes and in web sites that offer quotes. [11] When asked about her life philosophy, she responded that her belief was simple: "It is in God and His spirit in mankind. It is in man and his struggle. It is in the Golden Rule and in the valor of men, however ignoble their shortcomings."

In the 1960s, Faith Baldwin became familiar as one of the "guiding faculty members" of the Famous Writers School, a heavily advertised correspondence school that drew criticism for allegedly deceptive advertising.[12] The "faculty" included Baldwin, Bennett Cerf, Bergen Evans, Bruce Catton, Mignon G. Eberhart, John Caples, J. D. Ratliff, Mark Wiseman, Max Shulman, Rudolf Flesch, Red Smith, Rod Serling. An inattentive reader could have mistakenly inferred from the ad copy that these writers personally reviewed and critiqued student work. See also [13].

[edit] Bibliography

  • Adam's Eden (1977)
  • Alimony (1928)
  • American Family (1934)
  • And New Stars Burn (1941)
  • Any Village (1972)
  • Arizona Star (1940)
  • Babs, A Story of Devine Corners (1931)
  • Beauty (1933)
  • Betty (1928)
  • Blaze of sunlight (1960)
  • Blue Horizons (1942)
  • Breath of Life (1942)
  • Broadway Interlude (1929) (with Achmed Abdullah)
  • Broadway Sensation (1930) (with Achmed Abdullah)
  • Career By Proxy (1939)
  • Change of Heart (1998) P.F. Collier 1944
  • Departing Wings (1927)
  • District Nurse (1993)
  • Enchanted Oasis (1938)
  • Evening Star (1994) 1964 Hardback, Holt, Rinehart & Winston
  • Face Towards the Spring (1956)
  • Garden Oats (1929)
  • Girl On the Make (1932) (with Achmed Abdullah)
  • Give Love the Air (1947)
  • Golden Shoestring (1949)
  • Harvest of Hope (1962)
  • He Married a Doctor (1944)
  • Heart Has Wings (1937)
  • Heart Remembers (1941)
  • High Road (1939)
  • Hold on to Your Heart (1976) UK title
  • Honor Bound (1934)
  • Hotel Hostess (1938)
  • Incredible Year (1929)
  • Innocent Bystander (1934)
  • Job for Jenny (1945)
  • Judy: A Story of Divine Corners (1930)
  • Juniper Tree (1952)
  • Laurel of Stonystream (1923)
  • Letty and the Law (1940) Hardback, P. F. Collier
  • Living By Faith (1964)
  • Lonely Man (1964)
  • The Lonely Doctor (1964)
  • Look out for Liza (1950)
  • Love’s a Puzzle (1933)
  • Magic and Mary Rose (1924)
  • Make-Believe (1930)
  • Manhattan Nights (1937)
  • Many Windows: Seasons of the Heart (1958)
  • Mary Lou, A Story of Divine Corners (1931)
  • Marry for Money (1948)
  • Mavis of Green Hill (1921)
  • Medical Center (1940)
  • Men Are Such Fools! (1936)
  • Moon’s Our Home (1936)
  • Myra, A story of Divine Corners (1932)
  • New Girl in Town (1975)
  • No Bed of Roses (1973)
  • No Private Heaven (1946)
  • Office Wife (1930)
  • One More Time (1972)
  • Private Duty (1936)
  • The Puritan Strain (1935)
  • Rehearsal for Love (19400
  • Rest of My Life With You (1942)
  • Rich Girl, Poor Girl (1938)
  • Rosalie’s Career (1928)
  • Self-Made Woman (1932)
  • Sign Posts (1924) Poems
  • Skyscraper (1931)
  • Sleeping Beauty (1947)
  • Something Special (1940)
  • Station Wagon Set (1939)
  • Take What You Want (1971)
  • Tell Me My Heart (1950) UK title
  • Temporary Address: Reno (1941)
  • Testament of Trust (1960)
  • That Man Is Mine (1937)
  • There Is a Season (1966)
  • Those Difficult Years (1925)
  • Three Faces of Love (1958)
  • Three Women (1926)
  • Thresholds (1925)
  • Thursday's Child (1976)
  • Time and the Hour (1975)
  • Today’s Virtue (1931)
  • Twenty-Four Hours a Day (1937)
  • Velvet Hammer (1969)
  • Washington USA (1943)
  • Weekend Marriage (1932)
  • The West Wind (1963)
  • White Collar Girl (1933)
  • White Magic (1939)
  • The Whole Armour (1951)
  • Widow’s Walk, Variations on a Theme (1954) Poems
  • Within A Year (1934)
  • Woman on Her Way (1946)
  • You Can't Escape (1943)

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Potato People," Time Magazine, July 20, 1962
  2. ^ "Faith Baldwin, Author of 85 Books And Many Stories, Is Dead at 84." The New York Times, March 19, 1978, p. 38
  3. ^ "Potato People," Time Magazine, July 20, 1962
  4. ^ "Brooklyn Bestseller," Time Magazine, July 8, 1935.
  5. ^ Clarence A. Andrews (1995): "Faith Baldwin, 1893-1978," Dictionary of American Biography, Supplement 10: 1976-1980. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1995.
  6. ^ "Amazing Faith," Time Magazine, May 1, 1950
  7. ^ Faith Baldwin at the Internet Movie Database
  8. ^ "The Rosy View," Time Magazine, January 29, 1951.
  9. ^ TV.com listing
  10. ^ need cite
  11. ^ Think Exist.com Quote from Faith Baldwin, retrieved 2007 April 11
  12. ^ Ad: "We want to test your writing aptitude," The New York Times, January 22, 1967; p. 240.
  13. ^ "4 Schools Agree to Shun Deceptive Advertising", The New York Times, June 18, 1971, p. 32