Dorothea Malm’s Followers (3)

Dorothea Malm

Genre

Gothic

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Dorothea Malm, whose Gothic romance novels were compared favorably to those of Daphne Du Maurier, Rebecca West and Jane Austen, died July 17 in Minneapolis. She was 88.

"Her passion was historical research," said her niece, Anne Malm Hossfeld of Minnetonka. Malm's heroines endured their dangerous love liaisons, the trademark of Gothic novels, in locales from 18th-century Boston to 19th-century Paris.

Born in Minnesota in 1915, Malm spent her childhood in Minot, N.D., where her family had moved to join relatives. They returned to Minnesota in 1924 and lived for many decades in Glen Lake, later incorporated into Minnetonka.

She earned bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Minnesota. She taught for a year in a junior high school be Dorothea Malm, whose Gothic romance novels were compared favorably to those of Daphne Du Maurier, Rebecca West and Jane Austen, died July 17 in Minneapolis. She was 88.

"Her passion was historical research," said her niece, Anne Malm Hossfeld of Minnetonka. Malm's heroines endured their dangerous love liaisons, the trademark of Gothic novels, in locales from 18th-century Boston to 19th-century Paris.

Born in Minnesota in 1915, Malm spent her childhood in Minot, N.D., where her family had moved to join relatives. They returned to Minnesota in 1924 and lived for many decades in Glen Lake, later incorporated into Minnetonka.

She earned bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Minnesota. She taught for a year in a junior high school before moving to Philadelphia to work as a manuscript editor for the Ladies Home Journal magazine.

She returned to Glen Lake to teach freshman English at the university in 1942-43. After that, she found herself "able to make a small but sufficient living writing fiction and have done so ever since," she wrote in 1959 in biographical data for Minneapolis Tribune files.

Her first novel, "Pamela Foxe," appeared in 1947, after she had already enjoyed success with short stories in women's magazines.

"To the Castle," which appeared in 1957, "is the stuff of which Du Maurier novels are made," a Minneapolis Tribune reviewer wrote, "and, to be successful, must be told with great style and complete sincerity. These are gifts which Miss Malm . . . has in generous supply."

"The Paper Mistress" was not as well received in 1959. In 1963, a Tribune reviewer of "Every Third Thought" noted that Malm "is little known here" but that critics in England had compared her to West and Austen. The book was "a masterful portrait" of three octogenarian siblings "with their disjointed memories and interesting bits of philosophy."

A disciplined, private woman, Malm wrote daily for about five hours, starting each book by writing out a rough draft and revising it by hand.

"I usually feel that I have done all that I can to it the fourth time through," she wrote in 1959. "I also find it advisable to let each new version stand and cool undisturbed for as long a time as possible."

Until the 1970s, three Malm sisters were living and writing at home, her niece said. Dorothea, who was published first, encouraged Frances Malm to follow her in writing fiction. The third sister, Marguerite Malm, a professor of psychology and education, wrote nonfiction related to her work.

http://www.startribune.com/obituaries... ...more

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Average rating: 3.29 · 52 ratings · 12 reviews · 13 distinct works • Similar authors

	To The Castle 3.23 avg rating — 44 ratings — published 1957 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Claire 3.83 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 1956 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	On a Fated Night by Dorothea Malm, Lou Marchetti (Illustrator) liked it 3.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 1966 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Pamela Foxe 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Paper Mistress 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 1960 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Every third thought 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Woman Question 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Claire 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	On a Fatal Night 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Every Third Thought 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Dorothea Malm’s Followers (3)

Dorothea Malm

Combine EditionsDorothea Malm’s books

Combine Editions
Dorothea Malm’s books