Miss MacIntosh My Darling: Chapter 70, About Mrs. Hogden, the Arithmetic Teacher, Anne Fremantle

Anne Fremantle reads from Chapter 70 “About Mrs. Hogden, the Arithmetic Teacher” of Miss MacIntosh, My Darling by Marguerite Young. Freemantle (1910-2002) was a critic, writer, and scholar of religion. Her academic work was focused on Communist China and Catholicism. She was also a poet and historian, who had written numerous books including; George Eliot (1933), Mothers: A Catholic Treasury of Great Stories (1951) and The Medieval Philosophers (1955).

Mrs. Hogden is introduced to Vera Cartwheel’s tale. She is the subject of great controversy because she enters the Cartwheel household unannounced. She temporarily replaces Miss MacIntosh, as Vera’s nursemaid and arithmetic teacher. Shortly after her entry, those around her begin to question her identity. Some family members assume that she was invited and others liken her to a bag lady. Ultimately, many begin to suspect her as a thief of dreams.

Often compared to James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake, Young's novel resonates with unique and poignant observations of American culture, in an epic and surrealist poetic prose. It took the under-recognized, enigmatic, and iconoclastic author eighteen years of work to complete this dense, two volume novel.

In 1976-77, Charles Ruas produced a series of WBAI radio programs focused on literature and radio performance, called The Reading Experiment. As part of this series, Miss MacIntosh, My Darling was read over a year-long period by Marguerite Young’s contemporaries from the New York City literature, music, and theater communities. All readings are underscored with soundscapes and music by artist Rob Wynne.

This program has been restored by The Clocktower Radio; with the assistance of Charles Ruas; and by agreement with The Yale Beinecke Library, home to the Marguerite Young Papers. Special thanks to Dr. Contance Eichenlaub for her passion and generosity.

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