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Christopher Morley (5 May, 1890–28 March, 1957) was an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 journalist
Journalist

A journalist is a person who practices journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events, trends, issues, and people while striving for viewpoints that aren't biased....
, novelist, essayist and poet
Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry....
.

stopher Morley was born in Bryn Mawr
Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania

'Bryn Mawr' is a census-designated place in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, just west of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania along Lancaster Avenue and the border with Delaware County, Pennsylvania....
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a U.S. state located in the Northeastern United States and Mid-Atlantic States regions of the United States....
 while his father was a mathematics professor at Haverford College
Haverford College

Haverford College is a highly selective, private university, coeducational Liberal arts colleges in the United States located in Haverford, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia....
. Morley graduated from this same school in 1910 as valedictorian
Valedictorian

Valedictorian is an academic title typically conferred in North America upon the highest ranked student among those being graduated from an educational institution....
. He then went to New College, Oxford
New College, Oxford

New College is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxfords of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Its official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College, Oxford; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always called "New College"....
 for three years on a Rhodes Scholarship
Rhodes Scholarship

The Rhodes Scholarship named after Cecil Rhodes is an international award for study at the University of Oxford and was the first large-scale programme of international scholarships....
, studying modern history. Arriving home, he headed out to Garden City
Garden City, New York

Garden City is a Political subdivisions of New York State#Village in central Nassau County, New York, New York, in the United States, which was founded by multi-millionaire Alexander Turney Stewart in 1869....
, New York, to begin his life of letters at Doubleday, where he worked as a publicist and publisher's reader
Publisher's reader

A publisher's reader or first reader is a person paid by a publisher or book sales club to read manuscripts from the slushpile, and to advise their employers as to quality and marketability of the work....
.






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Quotations


April prepares her green traffic light, and the world thinks GO!

My theology, briefly, is that the universe was dictated, but not signed.

No one appreciates the very special genius of your conversations as a dog does.

Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to be always part of unanimity.






Encyclopedia


Christopher Morley (5 May, 1890–28 March, 1957) was an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 journalist
Journalist

A journalist is a person who practices journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events, trends, issues, and people while striving for viewpoints that aren't biased....
, novelist, essayist and poet
Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry....
.

Biography

Christopher Morley was born in Bryn Mawr
Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania

'Bryn Mawr' is a census-designated place in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, just west of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania along Lancaster Avenue and the border with Delaware County, Pennsylvania....
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a U.S. state located in the Northeastern United States and Mid-Atlantic States regions of the United States....
 while his father was a mathematics professor at Haverford College
Haverford College

Haverford College is a highly selective, private university, coeducational Liberal arts colleges in the United States located in Haverford, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia....
. Morley graduated from this same school in 1910 as valedictorian
Valedictorian

Valedictorian is an academic title typically conferred in North America upon the highest ranked student among those being graduated from an educational institution....
. He then went to New College, Oxford
New College, Oxford

New College is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxfords of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Its official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College, Oxford; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always called "New College"....
 for three years on a Rhodes Scholarship
Rhodes Scholarship

The Rhodes Scholarship named after Cecil Rhodes is an international award for study at the University of Oxford and was the first large-scale programme of international scholarships....
, studying modern history. Arriving home, he headed out to Garden City
Garden City, New York

Garden City is a Political subdivisions of New York State#Village in central Nassau County, New York, New York, in the United States, which was founded by multi-millionaire Alexander Turney Stewart in 1869....
, New York, to begin his life of letters at Doubleday, where he worked as a publicist and publisher's reader
Publisher's reader

A publisher's reader or first reader is a person paid by a publisher or book sales club to read manuscripts from the slushpile, and to advise their employers as to quality and marketability of the work....
. About this time he married Helen Fairchild, and they lived first in Hempstead
Hempstead (village), New York

Hempstead is a Political subdivisions of New York State#Village located in the town of Hempstead , New York, Nassau County, New York, New York, United States....
, and then in Queens Village. Morley moved to Philadelphia where he got his start as a newspaper reporter and then columnist for various publications. In 1920, he returned to New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
 and took a job writing the column The Bowling Green for the New York Evening Post.

He was one of the founders and long-time contributing editor of the Saturday Review of Literature. A highly gregarious man, he was the mainstay of what he dubbed the "Three Hours for Lunch Club". Out of enthusiasm for the Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes is a fictional character of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, who first appeared in publication in 1887. He is the creation of Scotland-born author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle....
 stories, he became the founder of the Baker Street Irregulars
Baker Street Irregulars

The Baker Street Irregulars are any of several different groups, all named after the original, from various Sherlock Holmes stories....
 and wrote the introduction to the standard omnibus edition of The Complete Sherlock Holmes. In 1936 he was appointed to revise and enlarge Bartlett's Familiar Quotations
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations

Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, often simply called Bartlett's, is an American reference work that is the longest-lived and most widely distributed collection of quotations....
 (1937, 1948). He was one of the first judges for the Book-of-the Month Club, serving in that position until the early 1950s.

Author of more than 100 books of essays, poetry, and novels, Morley is probably best known as the author of Kitty Foyle
Kitty Foyle (novel)

Kitty Foyle, subtitled The Natural History of a Woman, is a 1939 novel by Christopher Morley. A bestseller in 1939 and 1940, it was adapted as a popular 1940 in film Kitty Foyle ....
 (1939), which was made into an Academy Award
Academy Awards

The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers....
-winning movie. Other well known works include Thunder on the Left
Thunder on the Left

Thunder on the Left is a novel by Christopher Morley, originally published in 1925. In it, Morley looks at maturity, individual growth, and human nature....
 (1925), and The Haunted Bookshop
The Haunted Bookshop

The Haunted Bookshop is the 1919 novel by Christopher Morley, now in the public domain in the United States....
 (1919) and Parnassus on Wheels
Parnassus on Wheels

Parnassus on Wheels is a 1917 novel written by Christopher Morley and published by Doubleday . The title refers to the Mount Parnassus of Greek mythology; it was the home of the Muses....
 (1917), his two novels of a fictional bookseller.

For most of his life, he lived in Roslyn Estates, Nassau County, Long Island, commuting to the city on the Long Island Rail Road
Long Island Rail Road

The Long Island Rail Road or LIRR is a commuter rail system serving the length of Long Island, New York that has been classified as a Class II railroad by the Surface Transportation Board....
, about which he wrote affectionately. In 1961, a park was named in his honor in Nassau County. This park preserves his studio, the "Knothole", as a point of interest, his furniture and bookcases available to the historically-interested public.

Notable works

  • Parnassus on Wheels
    Parnassus on Wheels

    Parnassus on Wheels is a 1917 novel written by Christopher Morley and published by Doubleday . The title refers to the Mount Parnassus of Greek mythology; it was the home of the Muses....
     (novel, 1917)
  • Shandygaff (book of essays, 1918)
  • The Haunted Bookshop
    The Haunted Bookshop

    The Haunted Bookshop is the 1919 novel by Christopher Morley, now in the public domain in the United States....
     (novel, 1919)
  • Thunder on the Left
    Thunder on the Left

    Thunder on the Left is a novel by Christopher Morley, originally published in 1925. In it, Morley looks at maturity, individual growth, and human nature....
     (novel, 1925)
  • Off the Deep End
    Off the Deep End

    Off the Deep End is the seventh album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released in 1992. This is also Al's first self-produced album, after six albums with Rick Derringer....
     (collection of essays, 1928, illustrated by John Alan Maxwell
    John Alan Maxwell

    John Alan Maxwell was an United States artist known primarily for his book and magazine illustrations, as well as History painter. He also was an illustrator for many commercial publications, including Collier's Weekly, The Saturday Evening Post, The Golden Book Magazine, The American Magazine, and Woman's Home Companion....
    )
  • Seacoast of Bohemia ("history of four infatuated adventurers, Morley, Cleon Throckmorton, Conrad Milliken and Harry Wagstaff Gribble, who rediscovered the Old Rialto Theatre in Hoboken, and refurnished it", 1929, illustrated by John Alan Maxwell
    John Alan Maxwell

    John Alan Maxwell was an United States artist known primarily for his book and magazine illustrations, as well as History painter. He also was an illustrator for many commercial publications, including Collier's Weekly, The Saturday Evening Post, The Golden Book Magazine, The American Magazine, and Woman's Home Companion....
    )
  • The Trojan Horse (novel, 1937)
  • Kitty Foyle
    Kitty Foyle (novel)

    Kitty Foyle, subtitled The Natural History of a Woman, is a 1939 novel by Christopher Morley. A bestseller in 1939 and 1940, it was adapted as a popular 1940 in film Kitty Foyle ....
     (novel, 1939)
  • The Old Mandarin (book of poetry, 1947)


Trivia

  • Morley was a close friend of Don Marquis
    Don Marquis

    Don Marquis was an American humorist, journalist and author. He was variously a novelist, poet, newspaper columnist and playwright. He is best remembered for creating the characters Archy and Mehitabel, supposed authors of humorous verse....
    , author of the Archy and Mehitabel
    Archy and mehitabel

    archy and mehitabel is the title of a series of newspaper columns written by Don Marquis beginning in 1916. Written as fictional social commentary and intended as a space-filler to allow Marquis to meet the challenge of writing a daily newspaper column six days a week, archy and mehitabel is Marquis' most famous work....
     stories featuring the antics and commentary of a New York cockroach and a cat.
  • Morley's widow sold a collection of his personal papers and books to the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin
    University of Texas at Austin

    The University of Texas at Austin is a public university research university located in Austin, Texas, Texas, United States, and is the flagship#University campuses institution of University of Texas System....
     after his death.
  • Morley founded the Baker Street Irregulars
    Baker Street Irregulars

    The Baker Street Irregulars are any of several different groups, all named after the original, from various Sherlock Holmes stories....
    , dedicated to the study of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
    Arthur Conan Doyle

    Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle, Deputy Lieutenant was a Scotland author most noted for his stories about the Detective fiction Sherlock Holmes, which are generally considered a major innovation in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger....
    's Sherlock Holmes
    Sherlock Holmes

    Sherlock Holmes is a fictional character of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, who first appeared in publication in 1887. He is the creation of Scotland-born author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle....
  • Morley edited two editions of Bartlett's Familiar Quotations
    Bartlett's Familiar Quotations

    Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, often simply called Bartlett's, is an American reference work that is the longest-lived and most widely distributed collection of quotations....
    : 1937 (11th) and 1948 (12th.)
  • Morley's 1939 novel, Kitty Foyle
    Kitty Foyle (novel)

    Kitty Foyle, subtitled The Natural History of a Woman, is a 1939 novel by Christopher Morley. A bestseller in 1939 and 1940, it was adapted as a popular 1940 in film Kitty Foyle ....
     was a bit advanced for its time on the racy side. It sold over one million copies, an instant best-seller.
  • Morley's brothers Felix and Frank were also Rhodes Scholars.


External links

  • at Internet Archive
    Internet Archive

    The Internet Archive is a nonprofit organization dedicated to building and maintaining a free and openly accessible online digital library, including an archive site of the World Wide Web....
     (scanned books original editions color illustrated)
  • at Quotidiana.org
  • Writings about Sherlock Holmes
  • — Biography]