Marguerite Merington | |
|---|---|
 Newspaper drawing of Merington | |
| Born | 1857 Stoke Newington, England |
| Died | (aged 94) New York City |
| Occupation | Author |
| Language | English |
Marguerite Merington[a] (1857 – May 20, 1951) was an English-born American author of short stories, essays, dramatic works, and biographies.[1] For several years, she taught in Greek and Latin at the Normal College in New York before pursuing a career as an author.
Marguerite Merington was born in Stoke Newington,[2] England, in 1857,[3][4] the daughter of Elizabeth and Richard Whiskin Crawford Merington (1827-1901), a clerk in the Bank of England.[5] Her aunt was Martha Merington, a British politician, notable as the first woman to serve as a Poor Law Guardian.
In January 1869[6] she came with her parents to Buffalo, New York where she was educated at a convent. Even as a girl, she displayed dramatic talent, and often wrote and acted little parlor plays.[7]
For several years, she was instructor in Greek and Latin in the Normal College in New York. After resigning from this position, Merington pursued the career of a dramatic author. About 1889, E. H. Sothern proposed that Merington should write him a play, the leading character of which should be a captivating Irish gentleman. With a few suggestions from him, the play, Captain Lettarblair was written. Before it was performed, Joseph Jefferson, saw the manuscript and praised it highly. The play had a trial run at an authors' matinee in New York City, and was first presented August 16, 1892, at the Lyceum Theatre. Captain Lettarblair, produced by Daniel Frohman,[2] brought in large audiences, was financially successful, and held a place in Sothern's repertoire.
Merington wrote other dramas, including Good-Bye, A Lover's Knot, and the libretto of a comic opera, Daphne, or the Pipes of Arcadia. Set to music by Arthur Bird, of London, it gained the prize of US$500 from the New York Conservatory of Music.[7] After having served as the private secretary of Elizabeth Bacon Custer, Merington became the editor of The Custer Story: The Life and Intimate Letters of General George A. Custer and His Wife Elizabeth.[8]
Merington died on May 20, 1951, in her Manhattan home.[9] Of her life she said: "There is absolutely nothing about me to be told, and that I never tell."[7]
