Miss MacIntosh My Darling: Chapter 77, Esther Longtree and the Shadow Child, Madeleine Thornton Sherwood

Madeleine Thornton Sherwood reads Chapter 77 Esther Longtree and the Shadow Child of Miss MacIntosh, My Darling by Marguerite Young. Sherwood is a Canadian actress that began her career on Broadway in 1950. Over the course of her 40 year stage career, she starred in Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. She went on to act on the silver screen, where she appeared in numerous films, including; Dynasty and They Flying Nun. In the 1990’s she returned to Canada, where she became an active member in the Society of Friends.

This program was originally aired in two parts and we have retained that format here.

Esther Longtree dwells on her many miscarriages. She wonders who might be to blame for the fetuses that were never born. If the blame should not fall on the fathers, she fears that it might be herself. If this should be deemed true, she worries that she might be discovered and tried for murder. She may just be at the mercy of the Chicago Detective.

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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