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The Black Angels By Maud Hart Lovelace They were called the Black Angels from the time they first appeared in Minnesota, a crew of black-haired, bright-eyed youngsters, so unlike their flaxen haired father-seven of them there were, and each one forever singing, except Joseph, who could not tell one note from another. Music was a passion with them from childhood. Small wonder, then, that they greeted with enthusiasm Benjy's plan for an Operatic and Concert Troupe; or that they set out with high hearts upon the venture, thinking their old covered wagon a golden caravan. from the original 1926 book cover Maud Hart Lovelace's first novel, The Black Angels, was published in 1926 by the John Day Company of New York, the first publisher to see it. Maud began research for her first novel in the summer of 1924, spending hours in the archives at the Minnesota Historical Society reading newspapers, magazines, memoirs and Folwell's History of Minnesota. The story takes place in the fictional Cloudman, Minnesota (Mankato, Minnesota), and opens in the days before the Civil War. In interviews Maud said the idea for the plot came from a family legend of her Uncle Frank, who ran away from home and joined an opera troupe. She based the character of Alex on her uncle, but she based the fictional opera troupe on the Andrews Opera Company. Paperback, 332 pp. To order by mail: Click here for an order form. About the Author Maud Hart Lovelace was born in 1892 in Mankato, Minn. She always believed she was born to be a writer. From the time she could hold a pencil, she was writing diaries, poems, plays, and stories. When Maud was 10, her father had a booklet of her poetry printed, and by age 18, she had sold her first short story, for $10, to the Los Angeles Times. The Hart family left Mankato shortly after Maud's high school graduation in 1910. They settled in Minneapolis, where Maud attended the University of Minnesota. In 1914 she sailed for Europe and spent the months leading up to the outbreak of World War I in England. In 1917 she married Delos W. Lovelace, a newspaper reporter and a popular writer of short stories. They had one daughter, Merian. In 1926 her first novel, The Black Angels, was published. Five more historical novels followed. Maud wrote two of them, One Stayed at Welcome and Gentlemen from England, in collaboration with her husband. With the publication of Betsy-Tacy in 1940, she began the successful series known as the Betsy-Tacy books, which were based on the lives of Maud (Betsy) and her best friend Bick (Tacy). The stories of her childhood in Mankato (the fictionalized Deep Valley), small-town life, family traditions, and enduring friendships continue to capture the hearts of her fans. Maud died March 11, 1980, in Claremont, Calif., and as she requested, she was returned to her beloved Mankato and is buried in Glenwood Cemetery. Her legacy lives on in the books she created and in her legion of fans, many of whom are members of the Betsy-Tacy Society, a national organization based in Mankato, Minn. Reviews & Comments Celebrate the Reprinting ofMaud Hart Lovelace's The Black Angels - Audrey Helbling blog - October 14, 2009 |
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