Blood of My Blood [Hardcover]

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (Author), ANNE BLYTHE MERIWETHER (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 6, 2002

Written in 1928, the year Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings moved to Cross Creek, her autobiographical first novel, Blood of My Blood, was never published. Its existence was unknown to her contemporaries--including Max Perkins, her editor at Scribner's.

Blood of My Blood is a portrait of the young artist very nearly ruined by egotism and through being alternately pushed and spoiled by her mother Ida. It is also a tender tribute to her father Arthur and a moving account of their relationship. But always at the center of the story is the intense love and hate that flamed back and forth between mother and daughter. Blood of My Blood reveals not only the painful process of maturation for a creative but tormented mind but also the steady growth of an artist.

There are wonderful descriptions of the natural world, people, objects, and--uniquely for Rawlings--of the big city and city-dwellers. Born in Washington, D.C., and reared there until her graduation from high school in 1914, Rawlings' descriptions of the city are historically charming, and her depiction of the society where "class distinctions were shaved wafer thin" is remarkable for its pertinence nearly a century later.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This unpublished autobiographical first novel, written in 1928 by the author of The Yearling and Cross Creek, presents an illuminating look at the background and maturation of a writer who went on to pen an American classic. The first quarter of the narrative focuses on Rawlings's domineering, ambitious but spiritually empty mother, Ida, who became an overwhelming force in Marjorie's life. Ida's efforts to produce the girl of her dreams lead her to ignore her second child, a son. When Marjorie is in high school, Ida teaches her how to get dates with the most eligible young men. She's a master of stage-mother antics, which begin to backfire when Marjorie belatedly develops an emotional attachment to her father, Arthur, a school principal turned patent lawyer who frustrates Ida by spiriting his family off to a farm in Maryland. Ida's most serious setback takes place when Marjorie's overindulged ego begins to grow exponentially as she approaches college, threatening to overwhelm her budding literary talent. The constant tug of war between mother and daughter reaches its pinnacle when they pay so much attention to social climbing that poor Arthur dies of neglect from a kidney illness. The combination of two distinctly unlikable protagonists (Rawlings doesn't spare readers the uglier aspects of her behavior) and some stilted prose make this a tough read, but glimmers of Rawlings's promising future emerge in the graceful final passages when Marjorie goes off to live her own life after marrying a man her mother hates, and must come to terms with Ida's growing loneliness. Given what Rawlings went on to achieve, this seminal work constitutes a useful document for those interested in delving further into her unusual life. (Feb.)Forecast: A strong library selection and a likely university seller, this novel has historical literary value.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In response to a contest in 1929, Rawlings submitted a manuscript entitled Blood of My Blood, which was returned to her with a rather terse letter indicating that it "could not hope" to win. Rawlings filed the manuscript away. No mention was ever made of it in her letters, biographies, or bibliographies, and even her editor, the famous Max Perkins, apparently never knew of it. It did not resurface until after her death in 1988. Essentially an autobiographical novel or memoir, the book details the rough and rowdy relationship Rawlings had with her mother, Ida, who comes across as a homely, domineering, and manipulating person. Rawlings struggles with her family as she develops into a gifted but egotistical writer trying to find her way. Only her father comes across sympathetically. The reader will get an early glimpse of a talent that went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for The Yearling and acclaim for her later nonfiction narrative Cross Creek. The only editing done to the manuscript was the correction of misspelled words. All literary collections will want this first work by a classic author. Ron Ratliff, Kansas State Univ., Manhattan
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: University Press of Florida; 1st edition (March 6, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813024439
• ISBN-13: 978-0813024431
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 7.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #813,918 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful glimpse at a great writer's early work, May 9, 2002

By 

"wibblet" (Central Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blood of My Blood (Hardcover)

I bought this book after reading Rawlings' autobiographical _Cross Creek_. I would recommend the book to any fan of Rawlings, as it provides an intense look at her complicated relationship with her mother, an understanding of the spiritual kinship she shared with her father, and provokes examination of the lines we draw between fiction and autobiography. In this very early, nearly unedited work, the readers sees how the two often become indistinguishable.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fills in the background for Rawlings' classics, September 9, 2004

By 

Virginia Allain "retired librarian" (Poinciana, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blood of My Blood (Hardcover)

This reminds me of old novels by Grace Livingston Hill or Gene Stratton Porter with the struggle against adverse conditions and conflicts over family values. At times it is heavy going. If this is close to what Rawlings' actual childhood and college years were like, I'm glad I read it before now turning to her classic, Cross Creek. I should get more from that reading with this book as background.
Useful mostly to scholars, students and devoted readers of The Yearling and Cross Creek.
I wish it had included photos of Rawlings as a child and in college and of her family. That would have been a plus.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiration for "The Sojourner", January 27, 2003

By 

J. M. Buck (Columbus, OH United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blood of My Blood (Hardcover)

I agree with "Wibblet's" comments. Those who have read Rawlings's last novel, "The Sojourner" will find the present volume even more fascinating, as it provides the real life roots for significant themes and characters in the later work. For us Rawlings fans, "Blood of My Blood" also provides more reasons for admiration and affection for this great American writer.