Book Cover of Christopher Morley

Timeline

Lifetime: 1890 - 1957 Passed: ≈ 67 years ago

Title

American Journalist, Novelist, Essayist

Country/Nationality

United States
Wikipedia

Christopher Morley

Christopher Morley was an American journalist, novelist, essayist and poet. He also produced stage productions for a few years and gave college lectures.

Morley was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. His father, Frank Morley, was a mathematics professor at Haverford College; his mother, Lilian Janet Bird, was a violinist who provided Christopher with much of his later love for literature and poetry.

In 1900, the family moved to Baltimore, Maryland. In 1906 Christopher entered Haverford College, graduating in 1910 as valedictorian. He then went to New College, Oxford, for three years on a Rhodes scholarship, studying modern history.

In 1913 Morley completed his Oxford studies and moved to New York City, New York. On June 14, 1914, he married Helen Booth Fairchild, with whom he would have four children, including Louise Morley Cochrane. They first lived in Hempstead, and then in Queens Village. They then moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and in 1920 they made their final move, to a house they called "Green Escape" in Roslyn Estates, New York. They remained there for the rest of his life. In 1936 he built a cabin at the rear of the property (The Knothole), which he maintained as his writing study from then on.

In 1951 Morley suffered a series of strokes, which greatly reduced his voluminous literary output. He died on 28 March 1957, and was buried in the Roslyn Cemetery in Nassau County, New York. After his death, two New York newspapers published his last message to his friends:

Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to continually be part of unanimity.

Books by Christopher Morley

In the Sweet Dry and Dry Cover image

In the Sweet Dry and Dry

Satire Fiction Humour
Alcoholism Prohibition

Written just before Prohibition to entail the possible troubles that might happen en route. Both sides of the argument, or battle as the case may be, strike out with various over-top methods like legislating most fruits and vegetables as unsafe or in...

Chimneysmoke  Cover image

Chimneysmoke

Poetry
Poems Glory Madness Classics Immortality

A collection of short poems on various themes by the author.

Mince Pie  Cover image

Mince Pie

Fiction Humour
Essay Humorous Fiction Sketches Poetry

Mince Pie is a compilation of humorous sketches, poetry, and essays written by Christopher Morley. Morley sets the tone in the preface: "If one asks what excuse there can be for prolonging the existence of these trifles, my answer is that there is no...

Religio Journalistici Cover image

Religio Journalistici

Essays
Society Life Short Works Journalism Memory

The essays likely focus on journalism and the role of the press in society."Religio Journalistici" is a collection of essays written by American author and journalist Christopher Morley.

Shandygaff Cover image

Shandygaff

Non-Fiction Essays
Treasure Prejudice Philosophical Short Works Immortality Resilience Adversity

Imagine a literary gathering where ideas flow like a well-aged whiskey, humor sparkles like champagne bubbles, and insights dance like a vibrant tango. This is the essence of Christopher Morley's "Shandygaff," a delightful collection of essays and sk...