April 26, 1902: "The Story of Mary MacLane" Is Published

April 26, 1902: The Story of Mary MacLane is published. It is a memoir. MacLane had originally titled it I Await the Devil's Coming. Anyone in what would then have been considered proper society would not have been surprised that she awaited it.

She was born on May 1, 1881 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and grew up in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, and then, after her father died, in Butte, Montana. In 1898, she began writing for her school's newspaper.

At the age of only 20, Herbert S. Stone & Company published her memoir, though changing the title to avoid offending people before they even bought the book. Many were offended after reading it: She wrote openly about egoism, about sexual attraction and love for other women, and expressed a desire to marry the Devil.

The sensationalism worked both ways: Conservative American newspapers spouted nasty editorials about her, calling her "The Wild Woman of Butte"; but the book proved to be an immediate success, especially among young women, selling over 100,000 copies during its first month of release. She continued to write best-sellers, though the shock factor wore off.

After a few years of living a Bohemian lifestyle, including in New York City's Greenwich Village, even then the capital of American Bohemianism, she needed money again. In 1917, she published a new memoir: I, Mary MacLane. It sold well, but the American entry into World War I took people's minds off such frivolous things.

So she made a deal to turn it into a movie. Though silent, it showed her addressing the camera, with subtitle cards put up. These were the earliest "fourth-wall breaks" in American popular culture. Released on February 1, 1918, it was titled Men Who Have Made Love to Me, ran 1 hour and 10 minutes (long for the time), and featured 6 separate stories: "The Callow Youth," "The Literary Man," "The Younger Son," "The Prize Fighter," "The Bank Clerk" and "The Husband of Another."

This film is also the first in which writer, star, narrator, and subject are all the same person. It was a success, but no copies are known to still exist, making it a "lost film."

She died on August 6, 1929, in Chicago, only 48 years old. In spite of her many love affairs, she is not known to have ever legally married, or had any children.

As feminist writing declined, she was practically forgotten, even with the return of feminism in the 1970s. In 1993, The Story of Mary MacLane and some of her newspaper feature work was republished in Tender Darkness: A Mary MacLane Anthology.

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April 26, 1902 was a Saturday. These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Giants beat their arch-rivals, the Brooklyn Superbas, 4-1 at the Polo Grounds. The Brooklyn team became the Dodgers in 1911.

* The Boston Beaneaters beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 13-9 at National League Park in Philadelphia. The ballpark was renamed Baker Bowl in 1914. The Beaneaters went through some name changes before becoming the Braves in 1912.

*The Baltimore Orioles beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 6-3 at Oriole Park in Baltimore. The Orioles folded at the end of the season, and were replaced by the New York team that would become the Yankees in 1913.

* The Washington Senators beat the Boston Americans, 15-7 at Boundary Field in Washington. The Americans became the Red Sox in 1908.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Orphans, 7-0 at Exposition Park in Pittsburgh. Honus Wagner went 1-for-4 with an RBI. The Chicago team, formerly known as the White Stockings and, for their youth, as the Colts, had long been led by 1st baseman and manager Adrian Constantine Anson. He was known as "Cap," for "Captain," until he got older, and became known as "Pop." He retired after the 1897 season, and the team became known as the "Orphans," because "they missed their Pop." They were renamed the Chicago Cubs in 1903.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 14-4 at the Palace of the Fans in Cincinnati. The ballpark that would eventually be named Crosley Field was built on the site in 1912.

* The Cleveland Bronchos beat the St. Louis Browns, 3-0 at the 1898-1908 version of Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. The next season, the Bronchos renamed themselves for their best hitter and 2nd baseman, and even named him their manager: Napoleon "Nap" Lajoie, who did not play in this game. They became the Cleveland Naps in 1903, the Cleveland Indians in 1915, and the Cleveland Guardians in 2022. After the 1953 season, the Browns moved, becoming... the Baltimore Orioles.

* And the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers were rained out at South Side Park in Chicago. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on September 20. The White Sox won the opener, 3-0, as Jimmy Callahan pitched a no-hitter. The 2nd game was tied, 3-3 in the bottom of the 7th inning, when it was called due to darkness.