Morley, Christopher
Born: May 5, 1890, in Haverford, Pennsylvania
Died: March 28, 1957, in Roslyn, New York
Vocations: Actor, Columnist, Editor, Essayist, Novelist, Papermaker, Playwright, Poet
Geographic Connection to Pennsylvania: Haverford, Montgomery County; Philadelphia, Philadelphia County
Keywords: Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations; The Haunted Bookshop; Haverford College; Kitty Foyle; New College, Oxford; Parnassus on Wheels; Rhodes Scholar; Sherlock Holmes
Abstract: Born in Haverford, Pennsylvania, on May 5, 1890, Christopher Morley is perhaps best known for the satirical, humorist, maudlin, critical, and ground-breaking characteristics of his lifetime body of works, which span well over 50 books, articles, and essays. The Haunted Bookshop, Parnassus on Wheels, and Kitty Foyle are the works he’s most known for. Morley attended Haverford College, the New College in Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. A career learner, Morley married Helen Fairchild in 1913, with whom he had three children. Morley died on March 28, 1957.
Biography:
Christopher Darling Morley was born on May 5, 1890, to Janet Bird and Frank Morley. Christopher had one brother, Felix Morley. His father was a math professor at Haverford College, and his mother was a musician and poet who eventually taught Christopher how to read.
At the age of ten, Christopher and his family moved to Baltimore, Maryland, only for Christopher to return to Haverford in 1906 to attend the Haverford College. He received his B.A. there and graduated as valedictorian in 1910. His brother, Felix, later became the president of Haverford.
After graduating from Haverford, Christopher was selected as a Rhodes Scholar and attended New College, Oxford, from 1910 to 1913, where he studied modern history. During this time, he published a volume of poetry, The Eighth Sin (1912), wrote stories, and published articles in the Haverfordian (which he also edited).
Returning to the United States in 1913, he started his career with the publishing company Doubleday, Page & Co. in New York, and married a long-time friend, Helen Fairchild, with whom he would have four children.
Later in his life, he would edit two Philadelphia periodicals: the Philadelphia Evening Public Ledger, and the Ladies’ Home Journal. Later he published two other world-renowned novels, Parnassus on Wheels and The Haunted Bookshop.
Over the course of his entire literary career, Morley would write over 50 books. The Man Who Made Friends With Himself, Spirit Level, and The Middle Kingdom are just a few examples of his works, which included novels, poems, articles, and essays.
In 1920 Christopher, Helen, and their children moved to Roslyn Estates in New York—their final home. While here, Morley wrote the column The Bowling Green for the New York Evening Post.
From 1928 to 1930 Morley produced several dramas, published a number of essays (many humorous), and wrote many more pieces, all before he helped in the revision of Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations in 1936.
A lifetime aficionado of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes series, Morley created many works on the subject and even boasted of membership in three Sherlock Holmes fan clubs.
Later in life, while living in the cabin he built previously, Morley worked continuously, authoring many works, including Kitty Foyle in 1939a work which was widely seen as controversial for it dealt with the taboo issue of abortion while following an Irish-American immigrant woman. Kitty Foyle went on to sell well over one million copies, making it a best seller.
Morley continued to edit works by his favorite authors and write in his late life, even finishing his autobiographical novel, before dying on March 28, 1957, due to a series of stokes.
Buried in the Roslyn Cemetery in Nassau County, New York, Morley is survived by his four children. The cabin he built has since become a part of the Christopher Morley Park, erected in his honor.
Works:
Novels
Poems
Essays
Sources:
For Further Information:
This biography was prepared by Darryl E. Watson, Jr., Fall 2005.