Alice Dalgliesh - Writing

Writing

Dalgliesh began writing at the urging of Louise Seaman Bechtel, then a publisher at Macmillan, who published her second book, The Little Wooden Farmer in 1930. Seaman Bechtal continued to mentor Dalgliesh after she began working at Scribners.

The Silver Pencil, published by Scribners in 1944, received the Newbery Honor Award. The title refers to a silver pencil given to Dalgleish by her father. The book is a thinly veiled partial-autobiography about Janet Laidlaw, born in Trinidad to a Scotch father and British mother, like Dalgliesh. Janet eventually comes to America and becomes a teacher and writer. The book, illustrated by Katherine Milhous, was called by Saturday Review, "a treasure to possess and to keep." Two years later Along Janet's Road, also illustrated by Milhous, continued the story.

Dalgliesh's next major book was The Bears on Hemlock Mountain. She said this simple picture book was based on an old Pennsylvania tall tale. Illustrated by Helen Sewell, it also received the Newbery Honor award.

Her next Newbery Honor book came two years later with The Courage of Sarah Noble. The book opens with an author's note stating that it is a true story. Virginia Haviland, later the Library of Congress' first director of its Children’s Book Section, said of Sarah Noble, "“Here is a remarkable book for younger readers — a true pioneer adventure, written for easy reading but without any sacrifice of literary quality or depth of feeling.”

Dalgliesh wrote over three dozen children's books, others for adults, and a great many articles and reviews of children's fiction. A number of her books were named Best Books of the Year by Horn Book Magazine. Her non-fiction was often noted by reviewers for its "casual yet factual and detailed style." Frequently her books capitalized on her interest in American history and were praised for their "accuracy and detail as well as her creation of believable characters and dramatic plots." Reviewer Rachel Fordyce pointed to her "strong sense of the child audience... and a delight in language, detail, situation, and action."