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On Growing Up Tough: An Irreverent Memoir
The #1 New York Times–bestselling author shares her rough journey to adulthood in a book that “should be read by every American” (Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette). Born in Manchester, England, in 1900, growing up wasn’t easy for Janet Taylor Caldwell. Her Scottish parents warned her that if she ever misbehaved at school, she’d be “thoroughly thrashed.” Weekends at home were filled with church and chores. When her family immigrated to America in 1907, life only got tougher. Her father died soon after their arrival in upstate New York, and the family struggled financially. But her mother, Anna, was a firm believer in Women’s Liberation and insisted that Janet could do a man’s job. With a first-class education, fierce self-reliance, and strong work ethic, Janet embarked on her writing career at the age of eight. Eventually, she was discovered by legendary editor Maxwell Perkins and began publishing under the name Taylor Caldwell. Her books sold millions of copies around the world and touched the lives of countless readers. Here is a witty and sharply observed account of the early struggles that gave Taylor Caldwell her strong convictions and made her one of the most distinctive voices in American literature. “You’re not likely to put this one down until the last line is devoured and digested” (Charleston Sunday News & Courier).
185 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1971
105 people are currently reading
159 people want to read
About the author
Taylor Caldwell
152 books554 followers Also known by the pen names Marcus Holland and Max Reiner.
Taylor Caldwell was born in Manchester, England. In 1907 she emigrated to the United States with her parents and younger brother. Her father died shortly after the move, and the family struggled. At the age of eight she started to write stories, and in fact wrote her first novel, The Romance of Atlantis, at the age of twelve (although it remained unpublished until 1975). Her father did not approve such activity for women, and sent her to work in a bindery. She continued to write prolifically, however, despite ill health. (In 1947, according to TIME magazine, she discarded and burned the manuscripts of 140 unpublished novels.)
In 1918-1919, she served in the United States Navy Reserve. In 1919 she married William F. Combs. In 1920, they had a daughter, Mary (known as "Peggy"). From 1923 to 1924 she was a court reporter in New York State Department of Labor in Buffalo, New York. In 1924, she went to work for the United States Department of Justice, as a member of the Board of Special Inquiry (an immigration tribunal) in Buffalo. In 1931 she graduated from SUNY Buffalo, and also was divorced from William Combs.
Caldwell then married her second husband, Marcus Reback, a fellow Justice employee. She had a second child with Reback, a daughter Judith, in 1932. They were married for 40 years, until his death in 1971.
In 1934, she began to work on the novel Dynasty of Death, which she and Reback completed in collaboration. It was published in 1938 and became a best-seller. "Taylor Caldwell" was presumed to be a man, and there was some public stir when the author was revealed to be a woman. Over the next 43 years, she published 42 more novels, many of them best-sellers. For instance, This Side of Innocence was the biggest fiction seller of 1946. Her works sold an estimated 30 million copies. She became wealthy, traveling to Europe and elsewhere, though she still lived near Buffalo.
Her books were big sellers right up to the end of her career. During her career as a writer, she received several awards.
She was an outspoken conservative and for a time wrote for the John Birch Society's monthly journal American Opinion and even associated with the anti-Semitic Liberty Lobby. Her memoir, On Growing Up Tough, appeared in 1971, consisting of many edited-down articles from American Opinion.
Around 1970, she became interested in reincarnation. She had become friends with well-known occultist author Jess Stearn, who suggested that the vivid detail in her many historical novels was actually subconscious recollection of previous lives. Supposedly, she agreed to be hypnotized and undergo "past-life regression" to disprove reincarnation. According to Stearn's book, The Search of a Soul - Taylor Caldwell's Psychic Lives, Caldwell instead began to recall her own past lives - eleven in all, including one on the "lost continent" of Lemuria.
In 1972, she married William Everett Stancell, a retired real estate developer, but divorced him in 1973. In 1978, she married William Robert Prestie, an eccentric Canadian 17 years her junior. This led to difficulties with her children. She had a long dispute with her daughter Judith over the estate of Judith's father Marcus; in 1979 Judith committed suicide.
Also in 1979, Caldwell suffered a stroke, which left her unable to speak, though she could still write. (She had been deaf since about 1965.) Her daughter Peggy accused Prestie of abusing and exploiting Caldwell, and there was a legal battle over her substantial assets.
She died of heart failure in Greenwich, Conn
Taylor Caldwell was born in Manchester, England. In 1907 she emigrated to the United States with her parents and younger brother. Her father died shortly after the move, and the family struggled. At the age of eight she started to write stories, and in fact wrote her first novel, The Romance of Atlantis, at the age of twelve (although it remained unpublished until 1975). Her father did not approve such activity for women, and sent her to work in a bindery. She continued to write prolifically, however, despite ill health. (In 1947, according to TIME magazine, she discarded and burned the manuscripts of 140 unpublished novels.)
In 1918-1919, she served in the United States Navy Reserve. In 1919 she married William F. Combs. In 1920, they had a daughter, Mary (known as "Peggy"). From 1923 to 1924 she was a court reporter in New York State Department of Labor in Buffalo, New York. In 1924, she went to work for the United States Department of Justice, as a member of the Board of Special Inquiry (an immigration tribunal) in Buffalo. In 1931 she graduated from SUNY Buffalo, and also was divorced from William Combs.
Caldwell then married her second husband, Marcus Reback, a fellow Justice employee. She had a second child with Reback, a daughter Judith, in 1932. They were married for 40 years, until his death in 1971.
In 1934, she began to work on the novel Dynasty of Death, which she and Reback completed in collaboration. It was published in 1938 and became a best-seller. "Taylor Caldwell" was presumed to be a man, and there was some public stir when the author was revealed to be a woman. Over the next 43 years, she published 42 more novels, many of them best-sellers. For instance, This Side of Innocence was the biggest fiction seller of 1946. Her works sold an estimated 30 million copies. She became wealthy, traveling to Europe and elsewhere, though she still lived near Buffalo.
Her books were big sellers right up to the end of her career. During her career as a writer, she received several awards.
She was an outspoken conservative and for a time wrote for the John Birch Society's monthly journal American Opinion and even associated with the anti-Semitic Liberty Lobby. Her memoir, On Growing Up Tough, appeared in 1971, consisting of many edited-down articles from American Opinion.
Around 1970, she became interested in reincarnation. She had become friends with well-known occultist author Jess Stearn, who suggested that the vivid detail in her many historical novels was actually subconscious recollection of previous lives. Supposedly, she agreed to be hypnotized and undergo "past-life regression" to disprove reincarnation. According to Stearn's book, The Search of a Soul - Taylor Caldwell's Psychic Lives, Caldwell instead began to recall her own past lives - eleven in all, including one on the "lost continent" of Lemuria.
In 1972, she married William Everett Stancell, a retired real estate developer, but divorced him in 1973. In 1978, she married William Robert Prestie, an eccentric Canadian 17 years her junior. This led to difficulties with her children. She had a long dispute with her daughter Judith over the estate of Judith's father Marcus; in 1979 Judith committed suicide.
Also in 1979, Caldwell suffered a stroke, which left her unable to speak, though she could still write. (She had been deaf since about 1965.) Her daughter Peggy accused Prestie of abusing and exploiting Caldwell, and there was a legal battle over her substantial assets.
She died of heart failure in Greenwich, Conn
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 29, 2023
A small quick read... gave it away as soon as I finished!! Felt like an original take on conservativism cushioned with delightful childhood and life stories. I have since bought many of her books. Highly recommend.
January 17, 2021
Conocía a Taylor Caldwell por su libro “Médico de cuerpos y almas” y “El gran león de Dios” pero no conocía nada de su vida y me he llevado una -gran- sorpresa. En esta autobiografía comparte anécdotas bastante ingeniosas y divertidas, pero lo que más me gustó es su visión del mundo, me impactó que una mujer que nació en 1900 haya descrito perfectamente lo que vivimos -hoy- 2021 por cambiar los valores que realmente importan por una sociedad blanda. Muy recomendado!
January 18, 2009
A great perspective on American life as seen through the eyes of a more conservative woman. Ms. Cadwell did a great job expressing her views on life in these United States.
January 19, 2017
Recuento de experiencias que todos tenemos al crecer y comprobar la doble moral con la cual nos educan, de tal manera que al "crecer" replicamos eso que tanto se preocuparon por enseñarmos. Janet, nombre de Taylor Cadwell, nos cuenta en 17 pequeñas historias que pasan durante su infancia y contrapone con su ya edad madura; en la primer historia aprende que la caridad es una pose para la tia botones que quitaba cada uno de los botones de la ropa que entregaba generosamente a los pobres. O cuando quizo ser una santa y fue a contar a su vecino que su esposa permitia la entrada de otros hombres a su casa, despues de escuchar a su madre decir " que alguien decente le diga a ese pobre hombre la verdad". Para terminar hablando de la sociedad de Estados Unidos de los ultimos años de los sesentas, describiendola como el resultado de falta de rigor en la educación de los niños, los cuales, según ella, terminan como hipies o delincuentes, o bien como mujeres liberadas que lo único que lograron fue hacer a los hombres unos atenidos. Increiblemente actual.
January 26, 2023
I have admired several of Caldwell's books, especiallyA Pillar of Iron (about Cicero) and The Earth Is the Lord's(about Genghis Kahn). My mother liked her books. But this book is a collection of essays about her life and her early identification as a conservative and anti-liberal. Most of the essays are polemics deriding liberals and decrying the decline of American manliness. Typical of conservatives, her success that arose after being raised in challenging poverty has convinced her that everyone can achieve and succeed if they only put effort into it. She is unconvinced that being an orphan or any other disadvantage is a disadvantage, and she is cynical about the motivations and the effects of liberal sentiments and socialism. I find it interesting that her daughter committed suicide; that she divorced; that she failed to see the irony in the fact that she was unaccepted as an author until she changed her pen name to suggest she was a man. An illustration of her philosophy:
The nature of human beings never changes; it is immutable. The present generation of children and the present generation of young adults from the age of thirteen to eighteen is, therefore, no different from that of their great-great-grandparents. Political fads come and go; theories rise and fall; the scientific 'truth' of today becomes the discarded error of tomorrow. Man's ideas change, but not his inherent nature. That remains. So, if the children are monstrous today – even criminal – it is not because their natures have become polluted, but because they have not been taught better, nor disciplined.
Yes, I am a liberal. Even so, this autobiography describes a character lacking depth, reflection, empathy, or even intelligence. The only value it holds for me is that it is dispels my notion that an author who writes well must possess these traits.
The nature of human beings never changes; it is immutable. The present generation of children and the present generation of young adults from the age of thirteen to eighteen is, therefore, no different from that of their great-great-grandparents. Political fads come and go; theories rise and fall; the scientific 'truth' of today becomes the discarded error of tomorrow. Man's ideas change, but not his inherent nature. That remains. So, if the children are monstrous today – even criminal – it is not because their natures have become polluted, but because they have not been taught better, nor disciplined.
Yes, I am a liberal. Even so, this autobiography describes a character lacking depth, reflection, empathy, or even intelligence. The only value it holds for me is that it is dispels my notion that an author who writes well must possess these traits.
January 26, 2023
I am a fan of Taylor Caldwell. I have been for 40 years.
Her memoir-not so much. This book was less memoir than treatise on what’s wrong with humanity.
Don’t get me wrong, I do not disagree with her, but I found it mindnumbingly boring to read chapter after chapter of conservative narratives and opinion. It really was not what I wanted when I purchased the book. I wanted to know what it was like to be Taylor Caldwell, to walk in her shoes.
I did enjoy the first chapters in which she recalled her childhood. I found the story of her first marriage in Appalachia amazing, intriguing and compelling. I found bits and pieces sprinkled in of a husband’s reaction to her behavior amusing. I kept hoping there would be more; not in the fashion of People Magazine, but in the way of memoirs that explore a writer’s reflections of life through a sort of fish eye lens. I felt as though a conservative version of Lenin was revealing the plan for world order. While I did find the chapter on how to recognize a liberal and fly below their radar, hilarious, and surprisingly relevant to this time in history, feeling hammered chapter after chapter by these essays was irritating and I couldn’t wait, to be done with it. I found the final chapter with a synopsis of her life and some photos afterward most what I wanted to know. She was a master at writing elaborate, thoughtful, engrossing books about figures in time and other places. I wanted that kind of book about a woman who changed my world a good bit along with a host of others with her writing.
Her memoir-not so much. This book was less memoir than treatise on what’s wrong with humanity.
Don’t get me wrong, I do not disagree with her, but I found it mindnumbingly boring to read chapter after chapter of conservative narratives and opinion. It really was not what I wanted when I purchased the book. I wanted to know what it was like to be Taylor Caldwell, to walk in her shoes.
I did enjoy the first chapters in which she recalled her childhood. I found the story of her first marriage in Appalachia amazing, intriguing and compelling. I found bits and pieces sprinkled in of a husband’s reaction to her behavior amusing. I kept hoping there would be more; not in the fashion of People Magazine, but in the way of memoirs that explore a writer’s reflections of life through a sort of fish eye lens. I felt as though a conservative version of Lenin was revealing the plan for world order. While I did find the chapter on how to recognize a liberal and fly below their radar, hilarious, and surprisingly relevant to this time in history, feeling hammered chapter after chapter by these essays was irritating and I couldn’t wait, to be done with it. I found the final chapter with a synopsis of her life and some photos afterward most what I wanted to know. She was a master at writing elaborate, thoughtful, engrossing books about figures in time and other places. I wanted that kind of book about a woman who changed my world a good bit along with a host of others with her writing.
January 15, 2023
Irreverent indeed. How could I love so many of the books she wrote only to be so sickened by her own political views and negative look at her own life? At first, I thought this was all tongue-in-cheek hyperbole like the Colbert Report TV show where Stephen pretended to be so conservative. But by this memoir's end, there was no "Gotcha" admission. No thanks.
November 11, 2019
More of a personal rant (political/ societal/male and female roles) than a personal memoir.
May 14, 2021
It's a interesting biography of she (Taylor Caldwell). 💎
April 3, 2025
This was written decades ago, but is a perfect antidote to what ails the US today. A must read by a very accomplished author.
June 25, 2025
A memoir from an anti-feminist.
October 4, 2015
Aunque estoy en desacuerdo con muchas de sus ideas, me gustó mucho leer esta autobiografía. Además, de que está muy bien escrita... es muy sincera, y como está escrita sin interrupciones (a diferencia de cuando las pobres personas mayores hablan), permite realmente oír a esta generación que creció en otra época y que de verdad cree que hay una sola forma de hacer las cosas y que el trabajo duro es la manera de resolver todo.
A Taylor Caldwell, por ejemplo, no le gustan NADA los hippies y los juzga muy duramente, pero en cierto modo es justo que ella sea así, porque sacó adelante a su hija y también a ella misma contra todo pronóstico, trabajando duramente y sin pedirle nada a nadie. Dice nunca fue a pedir ayuda al gobierno, porque se le caía la cara de vergüenza cuando era joven y tenía salud.
Con esto no digo que las personas en situaciones críticas no deban pedir ayuda, porque tampoco es mi situación afortunadamente, y sería muy fácil llegar y juzgar, pero... es lindo y útil leer historias reales, y aprender el lado de las cosas, y saber por qué las personas tienen una razón de ser, y abrazar con presencia lo que ha sido su propia ración de conocimiento. Porque Taylor Caldwell también vivió una vida y también sabe de lo que habla.
A mí esta autobiografía me gustó mucho. Seguramente ella era de esas señoronas habladoras que dan cátedra e irritan a todo el mundo, pero apuesto que en el fondo era una viejecilla dulce, de esas que hacen lo que sienten que debían ser. Yo sentí un verdadero aprecio, y sobre todo una verdadera compasión por ella. Me dio la impresión de que, al final, era una persona muy sola y más pena me dio después cuando investigué y vi que sus últimos años los pasó ciega y enferma, obligada a escribir por culpa de sus descendendientes que querían sacar aún más plata a costa de ella (ojalá estés mintiendo, internet). Ay, además leí que se hizo regresiones para comprobar que no existía la reencarnación pero que luego encontró que sí había tenido 11 vidas pasadas, jajaja. Eso no lo podemos saber con certeza, claro, pero ¿cómo no va a ser tierno? ¿Ir por una cosa y encontrar otra, y decirlo? Eso refleja una sincera búsqueda de la verdad.
Y además, su manera de escribir es una gozada.
A Taylor Caldwell, por ejemplo, no le gustan NADA los hippies y los juzga muy duramente, pero en cierto modo es justo que ella sea así, porque sacó adelante a su hija y también a ella misma contra todo pronóstico, trabajando duramente y sin pedirle nada a nadie. Dice nunca fue a pedir ayuda al gobierno, porque se le caía la cara de vergüenza cuando era joven y tenía salud.
Con esto no digo que las personas en situaciones críticas no deban pedir ayuda, porque tampoco es mi situación afortunadamente, y sería muy fácil llegar y juzgar, pero... es lindo y útil leer historias reales, y aprender el lado de las cosas, y saber por qué las personas tienen una razón de ser, y abrazar con presencia lo que ha sido su propia ración de conocimiento. Porque Taylor Caldwell también vivió una vida y también sabe de lo que habla.
A mí esta autobiografía me gustó mucho. Seguramente ella era de esas señoronas habladoras que dan cátedra e irritan a todo el mundo, pero apuesto que en el fondo era una viejecilla dulce, de esas que hacen lo que sienten que debían ser. Yo sentí un verdadero aprecio, y sobre todo una verdadera compasión por ella. Me dio la impresión de que, al final, era una persona muy sola y más pena me dio después cuando investigué y vi que sus últimos años los pasó ciega y enferma, obligada a escribir por culpa de sus descendendientes que querían sacar aún más plata a costa de ella (ojalá estés mintiendo, internet). Ay, además leí que se hizo regresiones para comprobar que no existía la reencarnación pero que luego encontró que sí había tenido 11 vidas pasadas, jajaja. Eso no lo podemos saber con certeza, claro, pero ¿cómo no va a ser tierno? ¿Ir por una cosa y encontrar otra, y decirlo? Eso refleja una sincera búsqueda de la verdad.
Y además, su manera de escribir es una gozada.
July 24, 2015
Don't get me wrong. Taylor Caldwell is still a wonderful writer. Many years ago I read and really enjoyed her novels. This book is well written as usual. I just didn't like her preachiness. I guess I must be too much of a Liberal. She came down on these people really hard. So, if this was a memoir, why didn't she write more about her "growing up tough" and less about the "evil" Liberals. What she did say about her growing up I enjoyed even though I felt her parents were extremely rough on her. As she said in her book, her mother could have started women's lib way before her time. She piled the work on her daughter, women's work as well as men's work, it made no difference to her mother. Lastly, I did enjoy her humorous recollections in this book.
May 17, 2020
Caldwell does include several stories from her childhood and teen years here, but most of the book is actually a political commentary. It is at times hilariously funny, especially considering how applicable much of it is in current years. Many will find Caldwell's language and stances on social issues very harsh in 2020, but If you accept the language and norms of the era it was published, it is very easy to get past. Caldwell was a brilliant writer and I love her works dearly; however, there are some issues I can not agree with her on, and that's okay with me.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews