Marge and Julia

Exploring the rich, enduring companionship shared by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and Julia Scribner Bigham through never-before-published letters, Marge and Julia provides a revelatory depiction of these two literary womens experiences in mid-twentieth-century America. Pulitzer Prizewinning author Rawlings was first introduced to Julia Scribner (later Bigham), daughter of publishing magnate Charles Scribner III, shortly after the legendary House of Scribner published The Yearling to runaway success. Though Julias New York City life was far removed from the rural world of Cross Creek, the two women remained close until Rawlingss death in 1953, after which Scribner Bigham served as Rawlingss literary executor. In this documentary edition of 211 of their letters, Rawlingss and Bighams perspectives on the world are woven through over a decade of intimate discussion and advice about relationships, motherhood, mental health, politics, art, and literature. Supplementing the letters with an introduction, explanatory footnotes, and a reminiscence by Scribner Bighams eldest daughter, Hildreth Scribner Bigham, MD, this edition provides historical context and prompts readers to inspect the facets of both womens complex relationship with issues such as racial discrimination, class, and gender inequality. These letters offer an unprecedented performance of two womens intimate friendship, one that transcended the limitations of patriarchy as they wrote their lives in letters.