Carol Ryrie Brink - (1895-1981)
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Advanced English III
Emmett High School, Emmett, Idaho.
I. Personal Life
Carol Ryrie Brink, born and raised in Idaho, is one of the many authors forming the history of Idaho. She was able to complete a life full of adventure and honor through experiences and adventures. Carol Ryrie Brink touched the lives of many children and adults through her amazing stories and example (Flyleaf). Carol Ryrie Brink is one of the best-known and most distinguished American writers for children.
Carol Ryrie was born in Moscow, Idaho, on December 28, 1895 (Reed 5). She was given the family name of Caroline, which had been shortened to Kitty, Carrie, and Caddie in other generations. She was the youngest in her family (6). Because her birthday came near Christmas, her mother decided to call her Carol. By the time she was eight years old, she had lost both of her parents. From that point on her grandmother, Caroline Watkins, and her two aunts, Winifred and Elsie, raised her. Carol Ryrie adored her grandmother. She felt the maternal bond with her grandmother more than any other figure in her life (7).
Both of Ryrie's parents were high class and popular among their community. Her father, Alexander Ryrie, was the first mayor of the small town of Moscow (Current Biography 75). He had come from Scotland at the age of twenty, going west to settle in Idaho when it was not yet a state. Her mother, Henrietta Watkins Ryrie, the daughter of a pioneer doctor, attended social events and was popular among the townspeople. She was not close to her daughter, Carol. Ryrie believed her mother to be very unstable (Reed 6-7).
Although Ryrie enjoyed reading, writing, drawing, making things with her hands, and spending many hours horseback riding, she experienced many tragic events during her childhood (Contemporary Authors 33). Ryrie's father, Alexander Ryrie, died in July 1900 of consumption (Reed 9). The following year, her grandfather, William Watkins, was murdered on August 4. To make matters worse, Henrietta Watkins, Carol Ryrie's mother committed suicide three years later over a struggling marriage with her second husband (10). Ryrie later wrote about the violence and questions of justice in one of her books (9).
II. Education
Carol Ryrie had a stable education growing up. She attended Moscow schools until her junior year in high school. Her junior year she moved to Portland, Oregon, where she attended Portland Academy for her last two years of high school (Contemporary Authors 33). After Ryrie graduated from high school, she returned to Moscow to attend the University of Idaho from 1914 until 1917 ( Current Biography 75). Her senior year at the University of Idaho Ryrie transferred to the University of Berkeley in California with a close friend, Nora Ashton, where she graduated with a B.A. degree in 1918.
III. Marriage
Carol Ryrie married Raymond Woodard Brink on June 12, 1918. Ryrie and Brink had met at the University of Idaho where he was a young mathematics professor, but they had first met in 1909, when he was nineteen years old and she was thirteen years old (Reed 11). They continued to date when she transferred to the University of Berkeley and he remained at the University of Idaho. After many years of a long distance relationship through correspondence, they married (11). Later, they had two children, David Ryrie who was born in 1919 and Nora Caroline who was born in 1930 (14). Carol Ryrie Brink traveled with her husband and her son, David, to Scotland in 1919 where her husband taught at the University of Edinburgh (Current Biography 75). She and her family then traveled to France where she remained for several years.
IV. Career
Brink started writing and even thinking about writing at a young age ( Something About the Author 33-34). Her writing was influenced greatly by her grandmother, Caroline Watkins. Brink had once said about her grandmother, "Her stories were one of the delights of my earlier years" (33). Mrs. Watkins was said to be a wonderful storyteller.
In her junior high and high school years, Carol Ryrie Brink began to write in the school's monthly magazines. She later admitted it was during her high school years that she became interested in writing (33). Later, Brink wrote for newspapers and school publications throughout her years at the University of Idaho (34). When she was a young mother of small children, Brink began to write for Sunday school papers. Her publishing efforts were successful and later her work began to appear in national magazines. Carol Ryrie Brink was a self-employed author of books and plays for both children and adults her entire career (Contemporary Authors 49).
Brink was inspired by her travel abroad to create new and exciting ideas for her books. (Current Biography 76). Carol began to specialize in children's books in 1925. As the years passed, her work continued to fuel the interests of children and adults. Although Brink dreamed of becoming a famous writer, she settled for much less (Reed 15). She avoided literary circles and celebrities. Having been snubbed herself, she simply remained loyal to her fans and fellow writers. Brink was inspired by her children to write juvenile fiction (Reed 14). She believed it was her words that illustrated her books; pictures were not necessary (Something About the Author 34). Her first book debut was Anything Can Happen on the River , which was published in 1935 by Macmillan (Reed 14). The publishing of her first book gave Brink the confidence to continue writing.
V. Influences and Awards
Most of Brink's books are based on the true stories of her family and her childhood (Contemporary Authors 51). Her best selling, most successful book was Caddie Woodlawn , which is based on her grandmother's pioneer childhood. Several of her books take place in Idaho or refer to Idaho on occasion. An author once noted, "Brink's novels are rich in descriptions of the landscape of Idaho" (51).
Carol Ryrie Brink received several awards for her incredible work. In 1936, Brink received the John Newberry Award for Caddie Woodlawn . She also received the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award for Caddie Woodlawn in 1959. In addition to receiving the Newbery Medal, Carol Ryrie Brink was honored with the Friends of American Writers Award in 1955 for her book The Headland and an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters from the University of Idaho in 1965 (15). Brink's honorable awards did not end there. In 1966 she received the McKnight Family Foundation Medal for Snow in the River and the National League of American Pen Women Award for the same fictional book (Something About the Authors 32). In 1966 Brink also earned the Southern California Council of Literature for Children and Young People Award. Her book Four Girls on a Homestead gained her the Kerlan Award in 1978. Although Brink's list of honors seem never ending, her great works could not be honored enough.
VI. Additional Information About the Author
Carol Ryrie Brink was also involved in many clubs and societies. The following is a list of the known clubs she was involved in: National League of American Pen Women, Authors Guild, Authors' League of America, Women in Communications, Society of Children's Book Writers, California Writers' Guild, Southern California Council on Literature for Children and Young People, Faculty Women's Club (University of Minnesota), Phi Beta Kappa, and Gamma Phi Beta (Something About the Authors 32).
VII. Retirement
After a career of over twenty-seven books and plays written for children and adults, Brink turned to poetry, painting, and friends to fill her remaining years (15). Brink felt she had accomplished all she needed to in her life. She felt there was no unfinished work towards the end of her life. Carol Ryrie Brink died August 15, 1981, in La Jolla, CA (Contemporary Authors 49). She died full of kindness, contentment, and with a strong attachment to her Idaho roots.
VIII. Literary Works
The following are the books and plays written by Carol Ryrie Brink:
Adult Fiction
Buffalo Coat. New York: Macmillan, 1944.
Harps in the Wind. New York: Macmillan, 1947.
Stopover. New York: Macmillan, 1951.
The Headland. New York: Macmillan, 1955.
Strangers in the Forest. New York: Macmillan, 1959.
The Twin Cities. New York: Macmillan, 1961.
Chateau Saint Barnabe. New York: Macmillan, 1962
Snow in the River. New York: Macmillan, 1964.
The Bellini Look. Des Plaines, IL: Bantam, 1976.
Juvenile Fiction
Anything Can Happen on the River. New York: Macmillan, 1934.
Caddie Woodlawn. New York: Macmillan, 1935.
Mademoiselle Misfortune. New York: Macmillan, 1936.
Baby Island. New York: Macmillan, 1937.
All Over Town. New York: Macmillan, 1939.
Lad with a Whistle. New York: Macmillan, 1941.
Magical Melons. New York: Macmillan, 1944.
Narcissa Whitman. New York: Row, 1945.
Lafayette. New York: Row, 1946.
Minty et Compagnie. Dronten, The Netherlands: Casterman Nederland, 1945.
Family Grandstand. New York: Viking, 1952.
The Highly Trained Dogs of Professor Petit. New York: Macmillan, 1953.
Family Sabbatical. New York: Viking, 1956.
The Pink Motel. New York: Macmillan, 1945.
Andy Buckram's Tin Men. New York: Macmillan, 1966.
Winter Cottage. New York: Macmillan, 1968.
Two Are Better Than One. New York: Macmillan, 1968.
The Bad Times of Irma Baumlein. illustrated by Hyman, Macmillan, 1972.
Louly. New York: Macmillan, 1974.
Four Girls on a Homestead. Latah County, Idaho: Historical Society, 1977.
Plays
The Cupboard Was Bare. Eldridge Publishing, 1928.
The Queen of the Dolls. Eldridge Publishing, 1928.
Caddie Woodlawn. New York: Macmillan, 1945.
IX. Works Cited
"Brink, Carol Ryrie." Contemporary Authors: New Reversion Ser. Eds. Daniel Jones and John
D. Jorgenson. Vol. 65. Detroit: Gale. 1998.
Current Biography. 7th Edition. 1946.
The World Book Encyclopedia. 1993 Edition.
Something About the Author. Ed. Alan Hedblad. Vol. 100. Detroit: Gale. 1999.
Flyleaf. Louly. By Carol Ryrie Brink. New York: Macmillan. 1974.
Reed, Mary E. Carol Ryrie Brink. Western Writers Ser. 100. Boise: BSU. 1991.
This essay was submitted by a student of Joanne Davis, an English teacher at Emmett High School in Idaho.