Rachel Maddux (1912 - 1983) was an American author and screenwriter. She was born on December 12, 1912, in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

, married King Baker in 1941, and died on November 19, 1983, in Erin, Tennessee. She attended the

University of Wichita Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

and graduated from

Kansas University The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

in 1934, with a degree in zoology. She began attending medical school, but had to withdraw for health reasons. Her first story, the novella "Turnip's Blood", was published by

Story Story or stories may refer to: Common uses * Narrative, an account of imaginary or real people and events ** Short story, a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting ** News story, an event or topic reported by a news orga ...

magazine in 1936. The

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

reported in 1937 that

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress whose Katharine Hepburn on screen and stage, career as a Golden Age of Hollywood, Hollywood leading lady spanned six decades. She was known for her headstrong ...

had bought the rights to the piece. Maddux rewrote the story as "Girl in the Park" for the October 30, 1952 episode of

The Ford Television Theatre ''Ford Theatre'', spelled ''Ford Theater'' for the original radio version and known, in full, as ''The Ford Television Theatre'' for the TV version, is a radio and television anthology series broadcast in the United States in the 1940s and 195 ...

. She went on to write the fantasy novel ''The Green Kingdom'' (1957), the

roman a clef Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

''Abel's Daughter'' (1960), and another novella, ''A Walk in the Spring Rain'' (1966), which was published in German as ''Die Frau des Anderen'' (1970). ''A Walk in the Spring Rain'' was made into a 1970

movie A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

of the same name, with

Ingrid Bergman Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, Bergman is often regarded as one of the most influential screen figures in cin ...

and

Anthony Quinn Manuel Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca (April 21, 1915 – June 3, 2001), known as Anthony Quinn, was an American actor. He was known for his portrayal of earthy, passionate characters "marked by a brutal and elemental virility" in over 100 ...

, written and produced by

Stirling Silliphant Stirling Dale Silliphant (January 16, 1918 – April 26, 1996) was an American screenwriter and producer. He is best remembered for his screenplay for '' In the Heat of the Night'', for which he won an Academy Award in 1967, and for creating ...

. Neil D. Isaacs wrote about that process in ''Fiction Into Film'' (1970). In the 1950s, Maddux had stories published in several issues of

The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy and science-fiction magazine, first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Press. Editors Anthony Bouche ...

, including "Final Clearance" (1956) and "Overture and Beginners" (1957). She wrote a "mental" (thematic) autobiography in 1941, published in 1991 as ''Communication'', and a collection of 28 of her stories, ''The Way Things Are'', was published posthumously in 1992. In 1960, Maddux and her husband moved to

Erin, Tennessee Erin is a city in and the county seat of Houston County, Tennessee. The population was 1,224 at the time of the 2020 census and 1,324 at the time of the 2010 census. History The city was perhaps named for Erin, a poetic name for Ireland. E ...

. While there, they became involved in fostering two abandoned siblings, and had to deal with the "misplaced pride" of the family and local residents when they tried (unsuccessfully) to adopt the children. Maddux wrote the book ''The Orchard Children'' (1977) and the television movie "Who'll Save Our Children?" (1978) about the experience. Her home in Erin was named a Literary Landmark by the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...

in 1998.

Bibliography

* "Turnip's Blood", 1936, in ''Story: The Magazine of the Short Story'', December. * "Turnip's Blood", 1938, 44 pages, in ''The Flying Yorkshireman'' (collection of 5 novellas), Harper & Brothers Publishers, New York. * ''The Green Kingdom'', 1957, 561 pages, Simon & Schuster, New York. * ''Abel's Daughter'', 1960, 184 pages, Harper & Brothers, New York. * ''A Walk in the Spring Rain'', 1966, 89 pages, Doubleday & Company, New York. * ''The Orchard Children'', (non-fiction), 1977. * "A Walk in the Spring Rain", part of ''Fiction Into Film'', Neil D. Isaacs, 1970, The University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville. * ''Communication'' (autobiography; includes "Turnip's Blood"), 1991, 102 pages, The University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville. * ''The Way Things Are'', 1992, (28 short stories, written between 1936 and 1960), The University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville.

References

{{reflist 1912 births 1983 deaths 20th-century American women writers American women screenwriters 20th-century American screenwriters