Especially Father

by Gladys Taber

A book intended to commemorate the author's father gives intimate details of her childhood.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography

253 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1948

About the author

A prolific author whose output includes plays, essays, memoirs and fiction, Gladys Taber (1899 – 1980) is perhaps best recalled for a series of books and columns about her life at Stillmeadow, a 17th-century farmhouse in Southbury, Connecticut.

Born Gladys Bagg on April 12, 1899 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, she was the middle child and only one to survive to adulthood. Her parents were Rufus Mather Bagg, who could trace his ancestry back to Cotton Mather, and the former Grace Sibyl Raybold. An older sister, Majel, had died at the age of six months while a younger brother Walter died at 15 months. During her childhood, she moved frequently as her father accepted various teaching posts until they finally settled in Appleton, Wisconsin. Gladys graduated from Appleton High School and enrolled at Wellesley College, receiving her bachelor’s degree in 1920. She returned to her hometown and earned a master’s in 1921 from Lawrence College, where her father was on faculty. The following year, she married Frank Albion Taber, Jr., giving birth to their daughter on July 7, 1923.

Mrs. Taber taught English at Lawrence College, Randolph Macon Women’s College in Lynchburg, Virginia, and at Columbia University, where she did postgraduate studies. She began her literary career with a play, Lady of the Moon (Penn), in 1928, and followed with a book of verse, Lyonesse (Bozart) in 1929. Taber won attention for her first humorous novel, Late Climbs the Sun (Coward, 1934). She went on to write several other novels and short story collections, including Tomorrow May Be Fair ( Coward, 1935), A Star to Steer By (Macrae, 1938) and This Is for Always (Macrae, 1938). In the late 1930s, Taber joined the staff of the Ladies’ Home Journal and began to contribute the column “Diary of Domesticity.”

By this time, she had separated from her husband and was living at Stillmeadow, a farmhouse built in 1690 in Southbury, Connecticut, sharing the house with Eleanor Sanford Mayer, a childhood friend who was often mistakenly identified as her sister. Beginning with Harvest at Stillmeadow (Little, Brown, 1940), Taber wrote a series of books about her simple life in New England that possessed homespun wisdom dolled out with earthy humor and an appreciation for the small things. She published more than 20 books related to Stillmeadow, including several cookbooks.

In 1959, she moved from Ladies’ Home Journal to Family Circle, contributing the “Butternut Wisdom” column until her retirement in 1967. In 1960, her companion, Eleanor, died and Taber decided to abandon life at Stillmeadow. Having spent some summers on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, she decided to relocate to the town of Orleans where she would live out the remainder of her days. While a resident of Orleans, Taber contributed “Still Cove Sketches” to the Cape Cod Oracle . Her final book, published posthumously, was Still Cove Journal (Lippincott, 1981).

Gladys Taber had divorced her husband in 1946 and he later passed away in October 1964. She died on March 11, 1980 in Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis, Massachusetts at the age of 80.

Reviews

[Julie Durnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gladys and her parents living in Wisconsin provide a wonderful glimpse of life in the early twentieth century-her father Rufus, a college professor of geology, was a remarkable person and adventurer of the first order! His eccentricities were a delight to read!

[Lynn]

I bought several books written by Gladys Taber off e-bay and Especially Father happened to be in the collection. I honestly didn't know if I would actually read it, but having read a Harvest of Yesterdays (also by Gladys Taber) my interest in her family life led me to read this book. It was an interesting read for sure as Gladys' father was quite a character. Unfortunately he was quite selfish and impatient as well and it left me wondering how his wife and daughter could have stood to live with him. A friend used to say "there's a lid for every pot" and I guess there is, for his wife seemed to learn how to manage him and the way in which she squeezed $50 out of him for the missionaries was quite entertaining. Gladys wrote this book because "history records the large events or the general condition of society, but only an individual can put down the way of life in a small town, the excitement of an old-fashioned summer colony, the days when nice girls came in at half-past ten." A nice read of memories of Gladys' father and life in another era.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book for sure. Glady's father is quite a character! I believe he is the reason the phrase "can't make this stuff up" was coined! The story got a bit long and drawn out in the middle and the father was rather unpleasant in my opinion but overall an enjoyable read.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Copyright 1948. Such a sweet woman. I look for her books all the time in book shops.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have loved Gladys Taber for many years and found her books about Stiilmeadow, her home in the country, a great comfort and joy to read. These books follow the seasons and the simple joys of daily life spend with beloved friends, family, and pets. It was rather shocking to begin reading this memoir of her father and to see what a self-centered bully he was to his family, neighbors, and students. How did gentle Gladys survive and become such a prolific writer and proponent of a wise, quiet life? It's an honest book, and we are ultimately given a full picture of Rufus Baggs, a brilliant geologist and professor, who was difficult to live with but genuinely loved.

[Kay · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of Gladys Taber, however, this book was not one I appreciated. This book is about Gladys's father as she remembered him from the time she was young until he was quite advanced in age. He was not kind nor likeable, so it was hard to finish reading this narrative. He was a totally self-absorbed and self-centered man, which is why I did not enjoy the book. I did give it two stars because of the historical significance of family life recorded.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another wonderful book by a favorite author! Some readers seemed put off by Taber's self-centered father, but I found him to be very interesting and the stories of his antics were frequently amusing. He was truly a character. When, near the end of the book, he was together with his brothers and sisters, I understood him better (they were ALL characters.) Admittedly, he would have been a difficult husband and father and professor.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gladys is an acquired taste, but her old-fashioned true stories make me smile. but her highly respected father was clearly a jerk 9f the highest ord er. clearly, he would be a suffocating bore to have to live with, pompous, cold, demanding all come to mind as true adjectives.

[Barbara]

(M's)

[Janie O · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was hoping Gladys Taber had had a terrific childhood and loved her father dearly but I found myself feeling the stress of his behavior. He was a very driven, intelligent and energetic man but not very soft and fatherly. She did, however, have an amazingly strong mother. This book was written very humorously, however, and I can see how some would really enjoy it.

[Dottie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wonderfully evocative character sketches of the author's father -- who was in my opinion perhaps brilliant in many ways but thoroughly disgusting overall in character I sped through the last half just to finish -- stubborn silly reader that I can sometimes be

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoy every book I have read by this author. Very true to the time.