Marguerite, Misty & Me: Marguerite Henry Biography or Bibliomemoir?

Did you ever read Julie and Julia (or watch the movie with Meryl Streep as Julia Child?). My new book Marguerite, Misty and Me: A Horse Lover’s Hunt for the Hidden History of Marguerite Henry and her Chincoteague Pony is like a horse girl’s version of the memoir by the late author and aspiring French chef, Julie Powell. When I started researching the life story of Marguerite Henry back in 2019 (first stop: an assisted living home, second stop: a police station), I thought if I could find out enough info, I would publish a Marguerite Henry biography. That was the plan.

Sometimes plans go awry.

The more I researched and just started writing scenes from Marguerite’s life, the more I realized my history as a horse fan and equestrian was entwined with the author I so admire. It’s quite possible I’m as horse crazy today as I am because of Marguerite’s influence. She brought the world of horses to me when I had no way to be with horses in real life.

Click here for a copy of Marguerite, Misty and Me of your very own.

Marguerite Henry Fangirl Bibliomemoir

To be honest, I shied away from creating what I now know is called a bibliomemoir (where a writer writes about the influence of another writer). I wanted to honor Marguerite and not draw any attention to myself. Especially since during this process, I found out my then-husband (now ex) had been living a double life. For years.

Needless to say, I was crushed (understatement). Who wants to write about painful things? Also, the goings-on that led to marital demise were so outlandish and soap-opera-script worthy it would make for a juicy storyline, BUT I didn’t (and still don’t) want to give any energy, focus or “air time” to that individual. He needs zero glory, even as the bad guy. However. . .

That situation was the inciting incident that shifted everything in my life, allowing me to have the time, space and ideal geography to dig into Marguerite Henry fact finding. Marguerite has been part of my healing journey. Meeting people who knew and loved her and hearing their stories uplifted my heart. Traveling to Chincoteague Island to watch Pony Penning last summer was a horse girl dream come true.

Another reason I shied away from writing another memoir (in case you missed it, my first book was a memoir: Horses Adored and Men Endured–what a foreshadowing title) is I didn’t want readers to think that I was portraying myself as on the same level as Marguerite. I aspire to write like her. By immersing myself in Marguerite Henry research, I have learned some of her writing practices. I hope to continue to strengthen my own craft. You might like my earlier blog post Tips to Write like Marguerite Henry if you enjoy writing too.

A Zoom meeting with a professor at the University of Minnesota changed everything. It was just the nudge I needed to feel confident about writing a Marguerite Henry biography with bits of my own story thrown in. I won’t give away all the details since there’s a scene in Marguerite, Misty and Me, but I’ll say this: when I told the professor I was still working out if my book was going to be a straight up biography or memoir like Julie and Julia, he smiled and said something to the effect that a memoir is more appealing than a biography—less formal.

The enthusiasm of a man whose career is based on literature sold me on my genre. lol

Why No Previous Marguerite Henry Biography?

I was curious why Marguerite Henry never wrote her own life story. She kind of did (but not really) in A Pictorial Life Story of Misty, but I found the answer while reading through her archival papers in the Kerlan Collection at the University of Minnesota. Click here to get your own copy of Marguerite Misty and Me and uncover the reason why. 🙂

I’ll give you a hint: Marguerite never wanted to be “bumptious.” Yes, I had to look that word up too.

Thanks for reading. Before I conclude, if you loved the work of Wesley Dennis, you should also read this blog post which contains a photo of a Dennis original (in color) from King of the Wind. Tally ho!

Your turn: What do you enjoy reading more: memoirs or biographies (or both or neither–lol)? DId you read Marguerite Henry books when you were young?

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