Ruth Marguerite McKenney was an American author and journalist, best remembered for My Sister Eileen, a memoir of her experiences growing up in Ohio and moving to Greenwich Village with her sister Eileen McKenney.
15 Facts About Ruth McKenney
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Ruth Marguerite McKenney was born in Mishawaka, Indiana on November 18,1911, to John Sidney McKenney, a mechanical engineer and Marguerite Flynn, a grade school teacher.
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Ruth McKenney graduated from Shaw High School, where she skipped two grades.
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Ruth McKenney was known as something of a tomboy and was the only girl to play on the East Cleveland boys baseball team.
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Ruth McKenney described herself as "homely as a mud fence", especially compared to her sister Eileen, though she likely exaggerated for comic effect.
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Ruth McKenney attempted to commit suicide once during high school but was rescued by Eileen.
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Ruth McKenney attended Ohio State University from 1928 to 1931, majoring in journalism, but did not graduate.
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Ruth McKenney wrote for the student newspaper, the Ohio State Lantern; and was the campus correspondent for the Columbus Dispatch.
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In 1934, Ruth McKenney moved to New Jersey, where she joined the staff of the Newark Ledger.
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In 1939 Ruth McKenney published Industrial Valley, a then-controversial book about the Akron rubber strike.
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Ruth McKenney's best-selling novel Jake Home chronicled the struggles of some common Americans between 1900 and 1930.
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In 1937, Ruth McKenney married fellow writer Richard Bransten.
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Ruth McKenney Bransten died in New York on July 25,1972, aged 60.
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Ruth McKenney wrote numerous short pieces for a variety of publications, including Harper's, The New Yorker, the New York Post, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Collier's, Argosy, Woman's Journal, Encore, The Saturday Evening Post, Holiday and New Masses.
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Ruth McKenney wrote screenplays with her husband, including Margie and The Trouble with Women.