Catherine Marshall
Biographical Information
Sarah Catherine Wood, better known by her married name of Catherine Marshall, was a very popular author of inspirational works about the Christian faith, including edited collections of her husband's sermons. Catherine Marshall was born Catherine Wood in Johnson City, TN, September 27, 1914. The family moved to Canton, Mississippi, where they lived until young Catherine was nine. They then moved to Keyser, WV, where John Wood became pastor of the Presbyterian Church. Catherine attended school in Keyser, becoming involved in such extracurricular activities as piano, debate, scouting, and church activities. She graduated from Keyser High School in 1932 and then enrolled in Agnes Scott College, Decatur, Georgia, majoring in history. She planned to write books and to return to West Virginia to teach. She completed her B.A. in 1936. Catherine met Peter Marshall, then pastor of the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, while studying at Agnes Scott. The couple married in 1936, then settled in Washington, DC when Peter became pastor of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. Catherine worked to be a good pastor's wife, engaging in extensive parish service.In March 1943, Catherine Marshall contracted tuberculosis, which was still a serious and life-threatening disease despite the recent discovery of penicillin. She spent the next tow years in bed, fighting to regain her health and struggling with a crisis of faith. Marshall slowly recovered both her health and her faith only to be forced to face her husband's first heart attack in 1947. The same year, Peter Marshall was named as Chaplain to the United States Senate. Peter Marshall served as Senate for two years before a second heart attack in 1949 ended his life. Catherine Marshall, at the age of 35, was forced to begin a new life as an independent woman.
The Fleming H. Revell Company, a publishing house, approached Catherine Marshall about the possibility of publishing some of her husband's sermons. Marshall edited a collection of twelve sermons and thirteen prayers, including a seven-page biographical sketch of Peter. The collection was published in the fall of 1949 as Mr. Jones, Meet the Master. The collection became a bestseller, sparking additional publishing interest in Peter Marshall. Beginning in the summer of 1950, Catherine produced a full biography of her husband, including eighty pages of sermons and prayers. A Man Called Peter was published in October 1951, reaching the bestseller list in ten days and remaining there for more than three years.
In 1959, after becoming a public figure in her own right and recognizing her need for a family again, Catherine Marshall married Leonard LeSourd, the executive editor of Guideposts magazine. Marshall continued to write, both non-fiction works and novels. Her perhaps best-known work, the young adult novel Christy, was published in 1967. Christy's popularity has endured, inspiring a continuing series of books and a television series.
In the mid-1970s, Marshall and her husband Leonard LeSourd joined with writers Elizabeth and John Sherrill to form Chosen Books, a publishing company which made its way into the competitive field of religious publishing. Adventures in Prayer (1975) was Catherine Marshall's first imprint from the new publisher. She would release other works through Chosen Books over the next several years.The lung problems that had resulted from her earlier tuberculosis returned in the early 1980s, and Catherine Marshall died in 1983. Her second novel, Julie, was posthumously published in 1984. She left her journals with her husband, who edited selections that were published in 1986 as A Closer Walk: Spiritual Discoveries from Her Journals.
Critical Responses
Commenting on Catherine Marshall, Religious Writers of America said "Marshall's writing has been largely ignored by the world of religious scholarship and literature, but as a writer of popular inspirational literature, she built a mass audience and emerged as a significant representative of late-twentieth century Protestant piety." Her work has received consistent praise from readers and from reviewers. Writing about A Man Called Peter, Clarence Seidenspinner of the Chicago Sunday Tribune commented "The best stories are those that really happened. None of the novels concerning the ministry, written during the last few years, touches the heart and appeals to the mind in the way that Catherine Marshall does in telling the story of her husband." Marshall's work speaks with openness and sincerity, commenting her love of her husband, her abiding faith even during doubt, and her love for life and for those around her. Commenting on Catherine Marshall in the New York Times, A. P. Davies stated: "Catherine Marshall writes extremely well. Those who do not accept her religious viewpoint will nevertheless admit that she presents it with grace and charm."
Works Published
- A Man Called Peter
- God Loves You
- To Live Again
- Beyond Ourselves
- Christy
- Something More
- Adventures in Prayer
- The Helper
- My Personal Prayer Diary
- Meeting God at Every Turn
- Catherine Marshall's Story Bible
- Thornbird Country
- Julie
- A Closer Walk
- Catherine Marshall's Storybook for Children
- Light in My Darkest Night
- The Inspirational Writings of Catherine Marshall
- Footprints in the Snow
- The Best of Catherine Marshall
- Unlocked Dreams
- Quiet Times with Catherine Marshall
- The Collected Works of Catherine Marshall
Edited by
- Mr. Jones, Meet the Master
- Let's Keep Christmas
- Prayers of Peter Marshall
- Heart of Peter Marshall's Faith
- Friends with God
- First Easter
- John Doe, Disciple
- The Best of Peter Marshall
Selected Bibliography
Boyer, Paul. Minister's Wife, Widow, Reluctant Feminist: Catherine Marshall in the 1950s. American Quarterly, winter 1978. Vol. 30, 703-721.
Chase, Elise. "Peter and Catherine Marshall." Twentieth-century Shapers of American Popular Religion. Greenwood Pres, 1989. pp.283-292.
Goin, Mary E. Catherine Marshall: Three Decades of Popular Religion. Journal of Presbyterian History, fall 1978. Vol. 56, 219-235.
Koob, Kathryn. "Catherine Marshall." Bright Legacy. Servant Books, 1983. pp.45-63.
Zaragoza, June. To Edify or Entertain: The Fiction of Catherine Marshall. Chr Arts, Fall 1996. Vol. 3, 11-13.
Author Website
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