Fanny Butcher: Writing

Butcher's brainstorming notes for literary writing in the Chicago Tribune.

Fanny Butcher papers, 1830-1984 [Page 173]. Fanny Butcher, creator. Circa 1915. Newberry Library.

Butcher gained respect and a following as the Tribune’s literary editor. Her personality and passion for books showed plainly in her writing. She paid attention to the public’s interest. She aimed to capture the attention of her readers, and “was adamant that [a review] was not a scholarly essay or a demonstration of the critic’s intellectual superiority” [6]. She wanted to reach the widest audience she could, and so she wrote in an engaging yet accessible way that drew readers in and made them want to read the books she wrote about. In 1940, when listing her top 10 books of the year, she wrote that, “My advice is: Take your worries to your favorite bookseller the way you take a pain to your doctor in the sure knowledge that he can happily settle everything” [7]. She frequently included long lists of honorable mentions in roundups as well, unable to deny notable titles the attention she believed they deserved. 

Along with being passionate, she was also a deeply objective reviewer. Despite knowing many writers, often corresponding with them extensively, she never allowed this to influence any of her views of their books. Author Nelsen Algren, in a review of Butcher’s memoir, wrote that she "was tough enough. Tough enough to outlast the roarers and the ragers, posers and strutters. And whether some wined and dined her, and others turned her down, it never affected her judgment of the work at hand. Friendship never seduced her into praising what was unpraiseworthy and personal dislike didn't provoke her into letting blood" [8]. When Butcher reviewed Ernest Hemingway’s Across the River, she criticized the work, despite being (in Hemingway’s own words) “’the most loyal friend’ he had ever had” [8]. 

Butcher’s own taste also did not affect her reviews. Despite being a voracious reader, she did have her likes and dislikes—her views could sometimes be a bit conservative or squeamish—but despite her personal views, she still read widely.

[6] Schultz and Hast, Women Building Chicago 1790-1990, 133.
[7] Fanny Butcher, "Fanny Butcher Selects 10 Best Novels of 1940: Fanny Butcher Selects 10 Best Novels of Year," Chicago Daily Tribune (1923-1963), December 4, 1940, https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/fanny-butcher-selects-10-best-novels-1940/docview/176493947/se-2?accountid=14553.
[8] Schultz and Hast, Women Building Chicago 1790-1990, 133.