Edward McMaken Eager
(June 20, 1911 –
October 23, 1964) was
an American
lyricist, playwright, and
author of books for children. Eager's
works for children were distinctive in their use of the theme of
magic making an appearance in the
lives of ordinary children.
Biography
Eager was
born in and grew up in Toledo
, Ohio
and attended
Harvard
University
class of 1935[120524]. He then moved to New York City
where he lived for 14 years before moving to Connecticut
[120525]. He married Jane Eberly in
1938
[120526] and he had a son named Fritz
[120527]. He was a childhood fan of
L. Frank Baum's
Oz series, and started writing
children's books when he could not find stories he wanted to read
to his own young son. In his books, Eager often acknowledges his
debt to
E. Nesbit, whom he thought of as the best children's
author of all time. A well-known lyricist and playwright, Eager
died in October 23, 1964 in Stamford Connecticut
[120528] at the age of fifty-three.
Harvard University awards an annual prize
[120529] in Eager's name.
EDWARD EAGER MEMORIAL FUND Through a bequest of Jane
Eager, a prize is awarded "in memory of my late husband, Edward
Eager, Class of 1935." The income of the fund is used "annually for
an award for the best creative writing - preferably in the juvenile
field - by an undergraduate in the Harvard English Department ...."
For further information, please contact the Department
Administrator, Department of English and American Literature and
Language.
Theatrical works
List may be incomplete
Sing Out, Sweet Land! (1944), "a salute to American folk
and popular music". With
Elie
Siegmeister, he wrote three new numbers for the show.
Dream With Music (1944), a "musical fantasy" in which a
soap opera writer dreams that she is
Scheherazade in old Baghdad, where her
real life acquaintances turn up as Aladdin, the Sultan, etc. Wrote
lyrics to music from Schubert, Beethoven, Saint-Saens, Weber,
Chopin, Wagner, Haydn and Foster as culled by Clay Warnick.
Balanchine choreographed.
[120530]
Beachcomber Club Revue of 1946, Books & Lyrics by
Edward Eager; Music by J Fred Coots (1946)
[120531]
The Liar, New Musical Comedy, Lyrics by Edward Eager;
Music by John Mundy and Edward Eager (1950)
[120532]
The Gambler Book written with
Alfred Drake (1952)
[120533]
NBC's The Adventures of Marco Polo,
April 14,
1956Music:
Clay Warnick &
Mel
PahlLyrics: Edward EagerBook:
William Friedberg &
Neil SimonCast:
Alfred
Drake,
Doretta MorrowThose who originally
led Broadway
's
Kismet starred in
Polo, with the score contrived around themes by Rimsky-Korsakov. The story was lightly
suggested by the actual exploits of the guy who opened China
to the
West. This production did well, and
Columbia released an LP of the score.
CBS Radio Workshop, May 4, 1956 The Toledo War (An
Operatic Parlor Piece) Libretto by Edward Eager, Music by David
Brookman (From credits on mp3 recording of episode.)
NBC's Holiday,June 9, 1956,Music: loosely adapted from
Johann StraussLyrics: Edward
EagerCast: Doretta Morrow, Keith Andes,
Kitty Carlisle, Bambi Lynn,
Tammy Grimes, George S. Irving, Jaques
D'Amboise
Loosely organized around Elmer Rice's play The Grand Tour, the
story told of a New
England
schoolteacher who fell for embezzling banker during
a trip to Europe. In the end of the
musical she uses family monies to cover his misdoings, an odd
resolution even by the looser standards of modern ethics.
Miranda and the Dark Young Man Libretto by Edward Eager
(1957)
[120534]
NBC Opera Theater, mentioned in various places as ongoing,
Lyricist, 1950–1963
Rugantino lyric translation by Edward Eager (1964)
[120535]
Literature
Books:
Collection of all seven Magic stories:
- Edward Eager's Tales of Magic (omnibus)
(2000)
Book descriptions
Half Magic was the #1 seller in America
Mouse ManorMouse Manor, illustrated by Beryl Bailey-Jones,
is told from the viewpoint of Miss Myrtilla the mouse, sole
occupant of the manor which she has inherited from her mother. She
keeps house faithfully, dusting the family portraits and baking a
bag pudding for her solitary Christmas dinner.
[120536]
Playing Possum pictures by Paul Galdone.
Half Magic
A dull summer is improved when Katharine, Mark, Jane and Martha
find a magic talisman, which resembles a U.S. nickel. But this
particular magical money is only half magic—it cuts a wish in half
and grants half of it. This causes wonderful/magical difficulty.
They meet Sir Launcelot, end up with a half-talking cat, get almost
kidnapped in the
Sahara desert, and
have their sister turned into a spectre! This book is full of
adventure and suspense.
Magic by the Lake
Here are the further adventures of Martha, Jane, Mark, and
Katharine from
Half-Magic. After racing up a hill Martha
sees a magical lake and new adventures on their summer vacation
where they go to a lake on a very weird road. They are stranded on
a desert island, visit Ali-Baba's cave, and end up rescued by some
children we see in the next book.
Half Magic and
Magic by the Lake take place in
the 1920s, earlier than Eager's other novels.
Knight's Castle
Martha's children, Roger and Ann, and their Aunt Katharine's
children, Eliza and Jack, find that the combination of a toy
castle, Scott's
Ivanhoe, and a little magic can build
another wonderful series of adventures. A running theme in Eager's
novels is his many references to the novels of E. Nesbit;
Knight's Castle pays explicit tribute to Nesbit's
The
Magic City, and also makes an explicit reference to the
cartoons of
Charles Addams. (
Half
Magic includes a reference to a short story by
Saki.) Knight's Castle won Ohioana Book Award for
Juvenile Literature in 1957.
[120537]
The Time Garden
Eliza, Jack, Roger, and Ann find an herb garden where thyme grows,
which lets them travel through time (until the thyme is ripe). On
one adventure they rescue their mothers, aunt Jane, and uncle Mark,
who are on a magical adventure as children. This gives an alternate
view of one of the adventures in
Magic by the Lake.
Magic or Not?
Laura, James, and their wonderful new neighbors, Kip and Lydia,
wish up some summer adventures when the well in their new yard is
more than they imagined.
Although all of Eager's other novels for children depict what are
clearly adventures in supernatural magic,
Magic or Not and
its sequel
The Well-Wishers are different in tone from his
other books, because all of the "magical" events in these two
novels are described ambiguously, with clues to permit possible
non-supernatural explanations.
The Well-Wishers
The children return to the magic well from
Magic or Not
for another unpredictable series of adventures which might (or
might not) be genuine magic.
Seven-Day Magic
Barnaby, John, Susan, Abbie and Fredericka check out a tattered
book from the library for seven days. Oddly, it carefully and
correctly records every word they say. Soon they find that it not
only records events, but creates new magical adventures.
Seven-Day Magic is Eager's only stand-alone novel: the
only one featuring children who do not appear in at least one other
of his books. It does, however, speak of his book
Half
Magic by name, and has a chapter where the children visit the
very end of
Half Magic and what might have happened
afterwards. It was his last book.
References
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