The Egg and I, first published in 1945, is a humorous memoir by American author Betty MacDonald about her adventures and travels as a young wife on a chicken farm on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state. The book is based on the author's experiences as a newlywed trying to acclimate to and operate a small chicken farm near Chimacum, Washington with her first husband, Robert Heskett, from 1927 to 1931. On visits with her family in Seattle, she told stories of their tribulations, which greatly amused them. In the 1940s, MacDonald's sisters strongly encouraged her to write a book about these experiences. The Egg and I was MacDonald's first attempt at writing a book.
Plot
MacDonald begins her book with a summary description of her childhood and family. Her father was an engineer, and moved frequently with his family throughout the West. Her mother's theory that a wife must support her husband in his career comes into play when the author marries a friend of her brother who soon admits that his dream is to leave his current office job and start a chicken ranch. Knowing nothing about ranching, but eager to support her husband, the author encourages the dream but is unprepared for the primitive conditions that exist on the ranch he purchases. From this "set up" the book turns to anecdotal stories that rely upon the proverbial "fish out of water" tales that pit MacDonald against her situation and her surroundings, such as the struggle to keep up with the need for water, which needs to be hand carried from a pond to the house until a tank is installed, or keeping a fire going in "Stove", or the constant care that chicks need. At one point a guest expresses envy of MacDonald and her husband, as she thinks they live a life full of fresh air and beautiful scenery, which is then followed by MacDonald pointing out that while the guest had lounged in bed that morning, she and her husband had been up before sunrise working for several hours, and then again the couple had stayed up long into the night after the guest had gone to bed.
Release
First published by the J. B. Lippincott Company on October 3, 1945, The Egg and I received laudatory reviews and soon appeared on the best-seller list. The book was a blockbuster success as a novel, being reprinted on a nearly monthly basis for the next two years. On September 12, 1946, the specially-bound one-millionth copy of the book was presented to MacDonald by WashingtonGovernorMonrad Wallgren at a luncheon in Seattle.
Following the success of the book and film, lawsuits were filed by members of the Chimacum community. They claimed that characters in The Egg and I had been based on them, and that they had been identified in their community as the real-life versions of those characters, subjecting them to ridicule and humiliation. The family of Albert and Susanna Bishop claimed they had been negatively portrayed as the Kettles. Their oldest son Edward and his wife Ilah Bishop filed the first lawsuit, which was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. The second lawsuit was filed against MacDonald, publisher J. B. Lippincott Company, and The Bon Marché for total damages of $975,000, as sought by nine other members of the Bishop family and Raymond H. Johnson, who claimed he had been portrayed as the Indian "Crowbar." The case was heard before a jury in Judge William J. Willkins' courtroom in King County Superior Court beginning February 6, 1951. MacDonald testified that the characters in her book were composite sketches of various people she had met. The defense produced evidence that the Bishop family had actually been trying to profit from the fame the book and movie had brought them, including testimony that son Walter Bishop had had his father Albert appear onstage at his Belfair, Washington, dance hall with chickens under his arm, introducing him as "Pa Kettle." On February 10, 1951, the jury decided in favor of the defendants.
Criticism
One reviewer noted that her treatment of the ruralworking class "spawned a perception of Washington as a land of eccentric country bumpkins like Ma and Pa Kettle."
In popular culture
Recordings of the theme song from the film were made by Sammy Kaye for Victor and Dinah Shore for Columbia. The road leading west from Beaver Valley Road to the former site of MacDonald's farm is now named "Egg and I Road". "The Egg and I" is the title of a song performed by The Seatbelts for the animeCowboy Bebop. The Egg and I is the name of a breakfast restaurant with around 100 locations nationwide. The owners were inspired by the book.
