Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch is a 1901 novel by American author Alice Hegan Rice, telling of a southern family's humorously coping with poverty. The book was highly popular on its release,[1] and has been adapted to film several times.
Rice was inspired to write the book during her "philanthropic work in a Louisville, Kentucky slum area, where she met an optimistic and cheerful woman" who served as the model for the book's main character.[1]
The setting of the book is a white turn-of-the-century urban slum whose inhabitants two somewhat wealthy individuals want to help. The title character is a widow with several daughters -- named after the continents, because she thinks that geographical names are refined -- and an employed young son, who dies before the middle of the book.
In 1904 the book was premiered as a Broadway play starring Madge Carr Cook.[2]
As of 1997, the book had sold more than 650,000 copies in a hundred printings.[1]
Film adaptations include:
- Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (1914 film), a 1914 silent film starring Blanche Chapman
- Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (1919 film), a 1919 silent film starring Marguerite Clark and Mary Carr
- Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (1934 film), a 1934 film released by Paramount Pictures starring Pauline Lord
- Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (1942 film), a 1942 film also released by Paramount Pictures starring Fay Bainter
References
- 1 2 3 Lowell Hayes Harrison, A New History of Kentucky (1997), p. 324.
- ↑ Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch on Broadway at Savoy Theatre, Sept. 1904-Jan. 1905