Henry Kitchell Webster (September 7, 1875 – December 8, 1932) was an American who was one of the most popular serial writers in the country during the early twentieth century. He wrote novels and short stories on themes ranging from mystery to family drama to science fiction, and pioneered techniques for making books best sellers.
Henry Kitchell Webster was the oldest child of Chicago industrialist Towner K. Webster and Emma Josephine Kitchell. He graduated from Hamilton College in 1897 and taught rhetoric at Union College the following year. Otherwise, he lived most of his life in Evanston, Illinois. He married Mary Ward Orth, September 7, 1901. In 1910, after his earliest novels achieved success, he and Mary traveled around the world.[1] The couple had three sons; Henry Kitchell Jr. (1905), Stokely (1912) who became a well-known impressionist painter, and Roderick (1915), who was Chairman of Adler Planetarium and benefactor of its Webster Institute.[2] In 1922, the family spent a year living and traveling in Europe. They rented an apartment on the Rive Gauche in Paris, during which time Stokely studied painting with a family friend, the American artist Lawton S. Parker. Webster was friends with many actors and opera stars, including Ethel Barrymore who starred in his 1912 Broadway play June Madness.
In 1930, Webster wrote a memoir of his father which was published by his brother-in-law Walter A. Strong.[3] In the summer of 1932, Webster was diagnosed with cancer. He died the following December at the age of 57. At the time of his death, Webster had partially completed a mystery, The Alleged Great-Aunt. His wife gave the manuscript to his friends Janet Ayer Fairbank and Margaret Ayer Barnes, who completed and published it in 1935.[4]
Popularityedit
He first achieved moderate recognition in 1899 when he co-wrote The Short Line War with fellow Illinois author Samuel Merwin, with whom he later collaborated to write one of his more famous works, Calumet "K" (1901). Calumet "K", which The Chicago Daily Tribune called "a vivifying romance of business," has maintained a modest level of popularity due to its status as Ayn Rand's favorite novel, a source of inspiration for her Objectivist philosophy.[5][6][7] Webster's novels The Real Adventure (1916) and An American Family: A Novel of Today (1918) both received critical praise upon release, and the former novel was made into a silent film in 1922.[8][9][10][11] By the time of his death, Webster had become one of the most popular authors of magazine serials in America, and "was largely instrumental in the great literary revolution of the generation, making best books 'best sellers'".[6]
Writing habits and styleedit
Webster's tales were often either set in Chicago, his "favorite literary locale," or in a fictitious urban location in the Midwest.[12] Webster usually released even his novels in serial form first, and he purposely straddled the line between popular "pot-boiler" fiction and longer, more ambitious works. He wrote an average of 2,000 words per day, at several points in his career reaching 60,000 words in as little as three weeks.[12] While producing such an enormous volume of text, Webster would decide which pieces were worthy of bearing his name and which should be released under a pseudonym. His favorite pen name was O. C. Cabot, which was tobacco spelled backwards. He asserted (anonymously) in The Saturday Evening Post that most authors must knowingly churn out large quantities of possibly inferior fiction in order to "make a living by literature."[12][13] Plenty of Webster’s work did bear his name, however, and under that name, he published twenty-nine novels, a play and hundreds of short stories.[6]
Referencesedit
^Webster, Stokely (2001). Stokely Webster and his Paris. Newington, CT: Connecticut River Press.
^Heise, Kenan (2 August 1997). "Roderick Webster, ex-Chairman of Planetarium". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
^Webster, Henry K. (1930). A Memoir of Towner Keeney Webster: 1849-1922. Chicago: Walter A. Strong.
^Webster, Henry K.; Faribank, Janet A.; Barnes, Margaret A. (1935). The Alleged Great-Aunt. New York: Bobbs-Merrill Company.
^Rand, Ayn (July, 1967). Introduction to Calumet "K", by Merwin-Webster, i-ix. New York: NBI Press, 1967.
^ abcButcher, Fanny. "Literary Circle Mourns Webster." The Chicago Daily Tribune. 10 December 1932, 17.
^Dalrymple, Scott (1997). "Capital Fictions: The Business Novel in America, 1890–1910." PhD diss., State University of New York at Buffalo. 81–82.
^Lehman, Peter (2012). "Change in Urban America: The Early 20th Century through the Works of Henry Kitchell Webster." MA Thesis, Pennsylvania State University. 1–6.
^Butler, Shepherd. "Henry K. Webster's Novel of Chicago and Chicagoans." The Chicago Daily Tribune. 19 October 1918. 10.
^"Marriage as 'The Real Adventure.'" The New York Times. 23 January 1916. BR26.
henry, kitchell, webster, september, 1875, december, 1932, american, most, popular, serial, writers, country, during, early, twentieth, century, wrote, novels, short, stories, themes, ranging, from, mystery, family, drama, science, fiction, pioneered, techniqu. Henry Kitchell Webster September 7 1875 December 8 1932 was an American who was one of the most popular serial writers in the country during the early twentieth century He wrote novels and short stories on themes ranging from mystery to family drama to science fiction and pioneered techniques for making books best sellers Henry Kitchell WebsterWebster circa 1917Born 1875 09 07 September 7 1875Evanston IllinoisDiedDecember 8 1932 1932 12 08 aged 57 Evanston IllinoisOccupationNovelist short story writer playwrightSpouseMary Ward Orth Webster Contents 1 Personal life 2 Popularity 3 Writing habits and style 4 References 5 External linksPersonal life editHenry Kitchell Webster was the oldest child of Chicago industrialist Towner K Webster and Emma Josephine Kitchell He graduated from Hamilton College in 1897 and taught rhetoric at Union College the following year Otherwise he lived most of his life in Evanston Illinois He married Mary Ward Orth September 7 1901 In 1910 after his earliest novels achieved success he and Mary traveled around the world 1 The couple had three sons Henry Kitchell Jr 1905 Stokely 1912 who became a well known impressionist painter and Roderick 1915 who was Chairman of Adler Planetarium and benefactor of its Webster Institute 2 In 1922 the family spent a year living and traveling in Europe They rented an apartment on the Rive Gauche in Paris during which time Stokely studied painting with a family friend the American artist Lawton S Parker Webster was friends with many actors and opera stars including Ethel Barrymore who starred in his 1912 Broadway play June Madness In 1930 Webster wrote a memoir of his father which was published by his brother in law Walter A Strong 3 In the summer of 1932 Webster was diagnosed with cancer He died the following December at the age of 57 At the time of his death Webster had partially completed a mystery The Alleged Great Aunt His wife gave the manuscript to his friends Janet Ayer Fairbank and Margaret Ayer Barnes who completed and published it in 1935 4 Popularity editHe first achieved moderate recognition in 1899 when he co wrote The Short Line War with fellow Illinois author Samuel Merwin with whom he later collaborated to write one of his more famous works Calumet K 1901 Calumet K which The Chicago Daily Tribune called a vivifying romance of business has maintained a modest level of popularity due to its status as Ayn Rand s favorite novel a source of inspiration for her Objectivist philosophy 5 6 7 Webster s novels The Real Adventure 1916 and An American Family A Novel of Today 1918 both received critical praise upon release and the former novel was made into a silent film in 1922 8 9 10 11 By the time of his death Webster had become one of the most popular authors of magazine serials in America and was largely instrumental in the great literary revolution of the generation making best books best sellers 6 Writing habits and style editWebster s tales were often either set in Chicago his favorite literary locale or in a fictitious urban location in the Midwest 12 Webster usually released even his novels in serial form first and he purposely straddled the line between popular pot boiler fiction and longer more ambitious works He wrote an average of 2 000 words per day at several points in his career reaching 60 000 words in as little as three weeks 12 While producing such an enormous volume of text Webster would decide which pieces were worthy of bearing his name and which should be released under a pseudonym His favorite pen name was O C Cabot which was tobacco spelled backwards He asserted anonymously in The Saturday Evening Post that most authors must knowingly churn out large quantities of possibly inferior fiction in order to make a living by literature 12 13 Plenty of Webster s work did bear his name however and under that name he published twenty nine novels a play and hundreds of short stories 6 References edit Webster Stokely 2001 Stokely Webster and his Paris Newington CT Connecticut River Press Heise Kenan 2 August 1997 Roderick Webster ex Chairman of Planetarium Chicago Tribune Retrieved 3 June 2020 Webster Henry K 1930 A Memoir of Towner Keeney Webster 1849 1922 Chicago Walter A Strong Webster Henry K Faribank Janet A Barnes Margaret A 1935 The Alleged Great Aunt New York Bobbs Merrill Company Rand Ayn July 1967 Introduction to Calumet K by Merwin Webster i ix New York NBI Press 1967 a b c Butcher Fanny Literary Circle Mourns Webster The Chicago Daily Tribune 10 December 1932 17 Dalrymple Scott 1997 Capital Fictions The Business Novel in America 1890 1910 PhD diss State University of New York at Buffalo 81 82 Lehman Peter 2012 Change in Urban America The Early 20th Century through the Works of Henry Kitchell Webster MA Thesis Pennsylvania State University 1 6 Butler Shepherd Henry K Webster s Novel of Chicago and Chicagoans The Chicago Daily Tribune 19 October 1918 10 Marriage as The Real Adventure The New York Times 23 January 1916 BR26 The Real Adventure at silentera com database a b c Henry K Webster Noted Writer Dead The New York Times 10 December 1932 15 Anonymous Henry Kitchell Webster Making a Living by Literature The Saturday Evening Post 184 no 20 11 November 1911 20 External links editWorks by Henry Kitchell Webster at Project Gutenberg Works by or about Henry Kitchell Webster at Internet Archive Works by Henry Kitchell Webster at LibriVox public domain audiobooks nbsp Henry Kitchell Webster at IMDb Henry Kitchell Webster Papers at the Newberry Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Henry Kitchell Webster amp oldid 1176655030, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
