Marguerite Henry Fan Letters and Friends

While researching through the Marguerite Henry Collection, for my upcoming book Marguerite, Misty and Me (now available for pre-order), one fact became clear right away: people loved Marguerite. The Newbery-winning author famously known for Misty of Chincoteague, Justin Morgan Had a Horse, King of the Wind, and over 50 more titles, most of them horse books, received mountains of fan mail from children and adults alike.

As I read countless fan letters sent to the iconic horse book author from the Midwest, many of them had the abbreviation in the margin “ans,” in billowy cursive. My inference is that Marguerite responded, and that was her way of keeping track. I landed on one paper indicating Marguerite was out on a research trip and her older sister Gertrude (more on her in Marguerite, Misty and Me) was the stand-in fan mail responder.

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Bonnie Shields, The Tennesee Mule Artist, who now lives in Idaho, was friends with Marguerite. Bonnie grew up reading her horse books, was a huge Marguerite Henry fan and received the thrill of her life when Marguerite tapped her to illustrate Brown Sunshine of Stardust Valley—the book that would become Marguerite’s last title. Bonnie shared with me that Marguerite delighted in receiving fan mail, and even when the author was in her 90s, the letters continued to pour in.

While researching at the University of Minnesota’s Kerlan Collection of Children’s Literature, I found letters mailed to Marguerite even after her death. 🙁

Some of the Marguerite Henry fan mail letters were hilarious, and you could tell the young letter writer was required to write a letter to an author for a school assignment. They were short and to the point. Some of those messages would go like this: “Hi! We just read Misty of Chincoteague and I really liked it. You are a good writer. Your friend, Susie.”

This photo of a Marguerite Henry fan atop Misty is my mom’s friend!

In other letters, children poured out their hearts about their longing for a horse or their joy at finally getting a horse or even asking her for training advice for what to do with their horse. She was like the Dear Abby of the horse world.

Several Marguerite Henry fan letter writers told Marguerite about their horse or pony named Misty or Stormy. And the horse show photographs and school pictures poured in. One day at the research library, I opened just one file folder and laid out all the photos. They covered the table. Each one had a name and most had a short message to the beloved author of horse books. They were precious.

The questions posed in the fan mail which inundated her provided the basis for a Marguerite Henry newsletter. She published nine editions in the late 1960s. That newsletter led to the book Dear Readers and Riders. Its format showed letters fans had written along with her answers—the goal being to address the repeat questions she received efficiently. The book was later re-titled Dear Marguerite Henry.

One of the coolest experiences was reading a lengthy, heartfelt late 1970s letter from a fan who was at that point a young woman. She had grown up reading all of Marguerite’s horse books, and she was writing to tell Marguerite she had finally purchased her dream horse—a Connemara mare—with money she had saved up working different jobs.

The letter writer told Marguerite to tell her fans that it was possible—to never give up on the horse dream because if you work hard enough, you can achieve it. The other request this fan had was asking Marguerite to write a story about a girl who is the only one in her area who rides sidesaddle. Her goal was to get other riders interested in sidesaddle too.

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This letter writer clearly touched Marguerite because she wrote back a long one-page response. At the end, Marguerite empowered her fan by suggesting she could be the one to write a book about a girl who loved riding sidesaddle.

The letter writer had a unique name and through the powers of the Interwebz, I tracked her down and we had a lovely exchange. She was so happy when I messaged her with the photograph of her beautiful letter and Marguerite’s thoughtful response.

Just yesterday, as I was writing this post, a woman who wrote Marguerite in the early 1980s sent me a photo of a card Marguerite mailed to her in response. On the cover was a picture of darling Chincoteague ponies, mares and foals lazing and grazing in the corrals I’m guessing on Assateague Island. This Marguerite Henry fan told me the work of Marguerite and Wesley Dennis influenced her career choice. The power of Marguerite Henry’s letters lives on.

Learn more about Marguerite Henry by snagging my memoir Marguerite, Misty and Me (debuting Summer 2023).

Question: Have you ever written a fan letter to Marguerite Henry, or anyone else?

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