Biography MacDonald, Betty: The Egg and I, v1, 9 March 2010.

[Patricia]

Betty MacDonald [1908?–1958]
The Egg and I [1945]

An amusing account of the author's experience as a poultry farmer in Washington State, which became a huge bestseller, and was later filmed.
Sourced from Project Gutenberg Canada.

This work is in the Canadian public domain OR the copyright holder has given specific permission for distribution. It may still be under copyright in some countries. If you live outside Canada, check your country's copyright laws. If the book is under copyright in your country, do not download or redistribute this work.

To report a copyright violation you can contact us here.

[dreams]

Thank you, Patricia. I absolutely loved this.

I just found out that one of her neighbors in the story (and some others) was the basis for the Ma and Pa Kettle movies I watched when I was younger (although, denied in the lawsuits)

It's written as though she is telling the stories and is easy to picture the situations. It could be that, since I have some familiarity with the various endeavors and have seen the Ma and Pa Kettle movies, that I was able to vividly picture the situations.

This is one book that I would love to have on my shelf. It is very true to the era and situations (according to my parents). We also had chickens, rabbits, etc when I was young, and I can relate to some of the endless everyday chores.

[Patricia]

I must say that I admire farmers. They just can't pull a sickie or have a lie-in, with animals that need tending.
I had heard about the book, though didn't read it until I did the conversion. I also enjoyed it a lot.

[BenG]

Originally Posted by dreams

Thank you, Patricia. I absolutely loved this.

I just found out that one of her neighbors in the story (and some others) was the basis for the Ma and Pa Kettle movies I watched when I was younger (although, denied in the lawsuits)

Yeah, Majorie Main and Percy Kilbride first appeared in the movie version of The Egg and I as Ma and Pa Kettle. They proved to be so popular that they were given their own movies.