Truman, Margaret 1924-

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Truman, Margaret 1924-
(Mary Truman Daniel, Mary Margaret Truman)

PERSONAL:

Born February 17, 1924, in Independence, MO; daughter of Harry S (a U.S. president) and Elizabeth Virginia Truman; married E. Clifton Daniel, Jr. (a newspaper editor), April 21, 1956 (died, 2000); children: Clifton Truman, William Wallace, Harrison Gates, Thomas Washington. Education: George Washington University, A.A., 1944, A.B., 1946. Politics: Democrat. Religion: Episcopalian.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Manhattan, NY. Agent—c/o Ballantine Publicity, 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.

CAREER:

Historian, broadcaster, singer, and writer. Opera coloratura, touring nationwide and appearing on radio and television, 1947-54; host of radio program

Authors in the News, 1954-61; host, with Mike Wallace, of radio program Weekday, 1955-56; host of television program CBS International Hour, 1965; summer stock actress. Former director of Riggs National Bank, Washington, DC; trustee of Harry S. Truman Institute at Georgetown University; secretary of Harry S. Truman Scholarship Fund; member of board of directors, Harry S. Truman Library Institute. Frequent guest on television programs such as The Tonight Show, What's My Line, and The Ed Sullivan Show.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Harry S. Truman Public Service Award, City of Independence, MO, 1984; honorary degrees from Wake Forest University, George Washington University, and Rockhurst College.

WRITINGS:

(With Margaret Cousins) Souvenir: Margaret Truman's Own Story, McGraw (New York, NY), 1956.

White House Pets, McKay (New York, NY), 1969.

Harry S. Truman, Morrow (New York, NY), 1972.

Women of Courage, Morrow (New York, NY), 1976. (Editor) Letters from Father: The Truman Family's Personal Correspondence, Arbor House (New York, NY), 1981.

Bess W. Truman, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1986. (Editor) Where the Buck Stops: The Personal and Private of Harry S Truman, Warner Books (New York, NY), 1989.

First Ladies, Random House (New York, NY), 1995.

The President's House: A First Daughter Shares the History and Secrets of the World's Most Famous Home, Ballantine Books (New York, NY), 2003, published in a young adult edition as The President's House: 1800 to the Present: The Secrets and History of the World's Most Famous Home, Ballantine Books (New York, NY), 2005. Contributor to Remarks Made at the Harry S. Truman Breakfast in the Mumford Room, Library of Congress, May 8, 1984 (sound recording), Library of Congress (Washington, DC), 1984. Also associated with Ole Missoura (printed music for voice and piano).

"CAPITAL CRIMES" SERIES; MYSTERY NOVELS Murder in the White House, Arbor House (New York, NY), 1980.

Murder on Capitol Hill, Arbor House (New York, NY), 1981.

Murder in the Supreme Court, Arbor House (New York, NY), 1982.

Murder in the Smithsonian, Arbor House (New York, NY), 1983.

Murder on Embassy Row, Arbor House (New York, NY), 1984.

Murder at the FBI, Arbor House (New York, NY), 1985.

Murder in Georgetown, Arbor House (New York, NY), 1986.

Murder in the CIA (also see below), Random House (New York, NY), 1987.

Murder at the Kennedy Center (also see below), Random House (New York, NY), 1989.

Murder at the National Cathedral (also see below), Random House (New York, NY), 1990.

Murder at the Pentagon, Random House (New York, NY), 1992.

Murder on the Potomac, Random House (New York, NY), 1994.

Three Complete Mysteries (contains Murder in the CIA, Murder at the Kennedy Center, and Murder at the National Cathedral), Wings (New York, NY), 1994.

Murder at the National Gallery, Random House (New York, NY), 1996.

Murder in the House, Random House (New York, NY), 1997.

Murder at the Watergate, Random House (New York, NY), 1998.

Murder at the Library of Congress, Random House (New York, NY), 1999.

Murder in Foggy Bottom, Random House (New York, NY), 2000.

Murder in Havana, Random House (New York, NY), 2001.

Murder at Ford's Theatre, Ballantine Books (New York, NY), 2002.

Murder at Union Station, Ballantine Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Capital Crimes, Ballantine Books (New York, NY), 2005.

Murder at the Washington Tribune, Ballantine Books (New York, NY), 2005.

Murder at the Opera, Ballantine Books (New York, NY), 2006.

ADAPTATIONS:

Film rights to Murder in the White House have been sold to Dick Clark Cinema Productions;

Murder at the Kennedy Center was released on

cassette by Recorded Books (Prince Frederick, MD), 1990. Many of Truman's other works have been adapted as audiobooks

SIDELIGHTS:

Margaret Truman's writing debut was in 1956 with her autobiography Souvenir: Margaret Truman's Own Story. Truman, the daughter of U.S. President Harry S. Truman, went on to pen more biographies and other nonfiction works, including the histories of her famous father and mother; Harry S. Truman and Bess W. Truman were released respectively in 1972 and 1986. However, when Truman published her first mystery novel in 1980, Murder in the White House, some observers were skeptical. Her "Capital Crimes" series has nevertheless proven to be a success. Speaking of the 2000 installment of the series, Murder in Foggy Bottom, a Publishers Weekly critic attested: "More than simply an entertaining blend of mystery and espionage, this first-rate tale raises some important questions about how the U.S. government copes with terrorism."

Truman's move to fiction writing was unexpected, even by her. Although she had long been a reader of mystery novels, trying her hand at writing one was accidental. She suggested one day, while speaking with her agent, that she had been thinking of writing a mystery, and she blurted out a title: Murder at the White House. Her agent immediately loved the idea and encouraged her to pursue it. Murder in the White House centers on the killing of Lansard Blaine, the corrupt U.S. Secretary of State who is found strangled to death in the family quarters of the White House. Because Blaine had been a shady businessman, a powerful politician, and a womanizer, there are numerous suspects in the case. "Blaine may have been put out of business by one of these females," Chris Chase explained in the Chicago Tribune, "or he may have been killed by the agent of a foreign power … or he may have been killed by 'someone fairly highly placed in the White House.’" The ensuing investigation of the murder exposes personal and political scandals among the First Family and their staff.

Critics were divided as to the merits of Murder in the White House, pointing out that Truman handled some elements of the novel better than others. William French noted in the Globe and Mail that "Miss Truman seems to have studied Agatha Christie on how to introduce false leads, point to the wrong suspect, and generally confuse the issue. She does this with a certain amount of technical dexterity, but it's too mechanical and juiceless." Edwin J. Miller maintained in Best Sellers that the idea for the novel "could have made a first-rate book," but that Truman's story was only an "excellent outline." New York Times Book Review contributor Peter Andrews claimed that "a bit more thought and some rudimentary editing might have turned the book into a really interesting story;h3 . All the evidence indicates that Margaret Truman is capable of doing much more interesting work than this." Reactions from the reading public were far more positive, however. Murder in the White House made the bestseller lists, was optioned for a television movie, and earned Truman over two hundred thousand dollars for the paperback rights alone.

After her initial success as a mystery writer, Truman settled into a one-novel-per-year writing schedule. In her "Capitol Crimes" series, she has continued to draw on her intimate knowledge of Washington and its environs, setting her mysteries in such famous locations as the CIA headquarters, the Supreme Court, the Smithsonian Institution, the U.S. Congress, and the offices of the FBI. Her characters are bureaucrats, diplomats, and other influential men and women in Washington society whom she views with a cynical eye. Her plots are complicated and fast-moving, while the Washington milieu is painted with precision.

Entries in Truman's mystery series have proven to be popular with readers, even though some critics have voiced continuing reservations about the books' quality. Discussing Murder at the National Cathedral in the

New York Times Book Review, Marilyn Stasio referred to Truman as "a stodgy writer," yet she gives the author credit for being "a stickler for authenticity" and for doing a good job summoning up her "imposing setting." A Publishers Weekly contributor felt that the mystery is "well served by the rich ecclesiastical accoutrements of its solemn setting," but complained that "Truman's mystery unravels disappointingly in a melodramatic, arbitrary resolution." In this reviewer's opinion, "gentlemanly Mac and lively Annabel [Truman's sleuthing protagonists] deserve a more convincing vehicle."

In Murder at the Pentagon, argued Los Angeles Times Book Review contributor Charles Champlin, "the plotting indeed is satisfyingly convoluted and the large-scale resolution worthy of [Robert] Ludlum." Writing about the same mystery, Burke Wilkinson declared in the Christian Science Monitor that "Margaret Truman ‘knows the forks’ in the nation's capital and how to pitchfork her readers into a web of murder and detection."

Murder in the House, Truman's thirteenth "Capitol Crimes" mystery, is "as rich as the others in behind-the-scenes Washington detail," averred Jeff Brown in People Weekly. Although written in "stodgy" prose and sprinkled with some "flossy over-reach," according to Brown, Truman "tells her story well." Booklist contributor Mary Carroll more definitively promoted Murder in the House as a "sure draw for Truman's many fans." The story has the Secretary of State as victim, and the crime is rumored to be associated with a sex scandal. However, the CIA believes the assassin is linked to a millionaire who employs Russian mafia men. Towards the mystery's conclusion, the victim's daughter is taken hostage in her father's office.

Murder in the House was followed by Murder at the Watergate in 1998. A Publishers Weekly contributor reported that Truman's characters in Murder at the Watergate are "shallow" and the story's ending is predictable. However, the critic also said the novel contains "a couple of nasty surprises" and its "plot is well grounded in the realities of Mexico-U.S. relations." Booklist contributor Ilene Cooper suggested that Truman gives too much information on Mexico-U.S. relations. While acknowledging that "there are some reasonably interesting characters," Cooper declared Murder at the Watergate to be one of the "Capital Crimes" series less "notable" entries.

Entering the new century, Truman continued to write episodes in her popular "Capital Crimes" series. Murder at Ford's Theatre is set at the infamous Washington performing venue where President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. At the novel's opening, police detectives Mo Johnson and Rick Klayman are investigating the death of congressional intern Nadia Zarinski, whose body was found by the door of the theatre. Complications ensue when it is discovered that Nadia worked for senator Bruce Lerner, the ex-husband of Clarise Emerson, who is currently in charge of the Ford and is a nominee for chair of the National Endowment for the Arts. Klaymon's son Jeremiah was the last person to see Nadia alive, but other suspects are plentiful, including aging actor Sydney Bancroft, theatre controller Bernard Crowley, and even Senator Lerner. "Without the graphic violence or vulgar language sometimes common" to other novels in the mystery genre, "this mystery is lively and interesting," commented Pam Johnson in School Library Journal. A

Publishers Weekly critic concluded: "The performance may be a bit contrived, but fans will enjoy the show."

Murder at Union Station continues the "reliably entertaining series," reported a Publishers Weekly reviewer. Writer Richard Marienthal is deep in the rush of promoting his new book, an organized crime exposé based in large part on information gleaned from Louis Russo, a former mobster-turned-government informant. When Russo returns from Israel, where he had been living in a witness protection program, to help Marienthal with his book promotion, he is gunned down in Washington's landmark Union Station. Certain revelations about secret overseas operations, it appears, have angered people in high places in the nation's capital. As the story progresses, Marienthal realizes he has put not only himself but also his entire family in danger.

Booklist reviewer Stephanie Zvirin called Truman's novel "solid fare" for series fans and for readers who "like political thrillers without a lot of blood and gore."

Despite having published so many books, Truman is still uneasy about the writing life. "I am always glad," she once told CA, "when a book or a magazine article is finished. I promise myself never to write another one, but I shall probably do one." Truman has admitted that she does not find writing to be a pleasant activity. "Writing," she said, "is the hardest and most exacting career I've ever had." And Truman has had several careers. For many years before she began to write, she was a concert singer. She debuted in 1947 on a national radio program with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and was soon touring the nation, performing a program of operatic arias and light classics. Live concerts soon led to regular appearances on radio and television, and in 1949 she signed a recording contract with RCA-Victor Records. In 1956, Truman married Clifton Daniel, an editor at the New York Times. Except for acting in summer stock, Truman quit her performing work at that time.

She was prompted to write her first book, Souvenir: Margaret Truman's Own Story, only because an unauthorized biography was in the planning stages and she wanted to head it off. Published in 1956, Souvenir recounts incidents from her childhood in Missouri, her years living in the White House as the president's only child, and her successful career as a concert singer.

Chicago Sunday Tribune critic N.L. Browning called the book "a fascinating chronicle … . It projects the simple dignity, warmth, and genuine modesty of a plain, unaffected midwest girl." Ishbel Ross, writing in the

New York Herald Tribune Book Review, found Souvenir to be "a gracefully written tale of an average American girl drawn by chance into the White House."

After the success of Souvenir, Truman did not publish another book until 1969, when her White House Pets

enjoyed some popularity with readers. In 1972, Truman completed a project she had long wanted to do, a biography of her father. Harry S. Truman provides a behind-the-scenes look at Harry Truman as president and family man, revealing his personal side in a way no other biography could. In a Christian Science Monitor review, Pamela Marsh observed that the former president is "shown through the eyes of a deeply loving, loyal daughter" who "can give what no one else can, a closeup of an undramatic man dramatically thrust into awesome power—and coping with it." Akron Beacon Journal reviewer Vera Glaser called Harry S. Truman "a warm memoir based on her father's personal papers and [Margaret Truman's] own recollections." While disagreeing with some of the book's partisan judgments about Truman and his administration, New York Times Book Review contributor Wilson C. McWilliams saw value in the portrait it gives of Truman. McWilliams found that "it is the personal, familial side of [Truman's] biography that makes it valuable … . Every anecdote adds human dimension to the Trumans as a family and to Harry as a man." The book has sold well over one million copies.

In 1986 Truman released a biography of her mother.

Bess W. Truman was considered by several critics to be of special interest for its intimate portrait of the president's wife. Because her mother preferred to burn her correspondence rather than let historians read them, little is known of Bess Truman's private thoughts and emotions. Her daughter's biography is one of the few personal accounts available. It is, according to Helen Thomas in the New York Times Book Review, "a refreshing, real and touching biography." Similarly, a critic for

Time called the book "a gentle, warmhearted biography."

Choice contributor A.L. Yarnell lauded Bess W. Truman as "the most revealing view of the personal side of the Truman relationship now available."

In The President's House: A First Daughter Shares the History and Secrets of the World's Most Famous Home Truman presents a history of the White House interspersed with her personal recollections as a resident of that storied home during her father's term as president. The "agreeably informative" book portrays "life upstairs and downstairs at the White House vividly evoked by a presidential daughter," observed a Kirkus Reviews contributor. In addition to historical facts about the White House's architecture, famous residents, and complex administration, Truman offers insights and gossip collected from her years there and from other notable residents. She covers the function of various elements of the White House staff, including the press corps, the household staff, the security staff, and the political staff. She reminisces about a number of weddings that took place at the White House, discusses a number of first ladies and presidential children, and even talks about several notable presidential pets. "Despite the breeziness of this account, Truman does a fine job of evoking America's most famous residence" and its elegant atmosphere, commented a reviewer in

Publishers Weekly. Booklist critic Margaret Flanagan concluded: "Never dry or dull, the energetic narrative brings the history of this almost mythical residence to life."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Truman, Margaret, and Margaret Cousins, Souvenir: Margaret Truman's Own Story, McGraw (New York, NY), 1956.

PERIODICALS

Akron Beacon Journal, March 3, 1974, Vera Glaser, review of Harry S. Truman.

Armchair Detective, spring, 1986, review of Murder at the FBI, p. 141.

Best Sellers, July, 1980, Edwin J. Miller, review of

Murder in the White House.

Booklist, May 1, 1996, Emily Melton, review of

Murder at the National Gallery, p. 1470; May 15, 1997, Mary Carroll, review of Murder in the House, p. 1542; July 19, 1998, Ilene Cooper, review of Murder at the Watergate; September 1, 1999, Budd Arthur, review of Murder at the Library of Congress, p. 73; October 1, 2003, Margaret Flanagan, review of The President's House: A First Daughter Shares the History and Secrets of the World's Most Famous Home, p. 297; September 1, 2004, Stephanie Zvirin, review of

Murder at Union Station, p. 70; September 1, 2005, Stephanie Zvirin, review of Murder at the Washington Tribune, p. 71.

Chicago Sunday Tribune, May 27, 1956, N.L. Browning, review of Souvenir.

Chicago Tribune, July 6, 1980, Chris Chase, review of

Murder in the White House.

Choice, September, 1986, A.L. Yarnell, review of Bess W. Truman.

Christian Science Monitor, January 3, 1973, Pamela Marsh, review of Harry S. Truman; July 3, 1992, Burke Wilkinson, review of Murder at the Pentagon, p. 13.

Globe and Mail (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), June 26, 1980, William French, review of Murder in the White House.

Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 1990, review of Murder at the National Cathedral, p. 1134; February 15, 1992, review of Murder at the Pentagon, p. 229; April 1, 1994, review of Murder on the Potomac, p. 441; June 1, 1996, review of Murder at the National Gallery; June 1, 1997, review of Murder in the House; June 15, 1998, review of Murder at the Watergate; September 15, 2002, review of

Murder at Ford's Theatre, p. 1357; August 15, 2003, review of The President's House, p. 1067; September 1, 2005, review of Murder at the Washington Tribune, p. 945.

Kliatt, July, 2005, Mary Gerrity, review of The President's Home: 1800 to the Present, p. 43.

Library Journal, October 1, 2003, Dale Farris, review of The President's House, p. 97.

Los Angeles Times Book Review, May 10, 1992, Charles Champlin, review of Murder at the Pentagon, p. 12.

New York Herald Tribune Book Review, May 20, 1956, Ishbel Ross, review of Souvenir.

New York Times, June 24, 1983, Anatole Broyard, review of Murder in the Smithsonian, p. C26.

New York Times Book Review, December 24, 1972, Wilson C. McWilliams, review of Harry S. Truman, p. 1; July 20, 1980, Peter Andrews, review of

Murder in the White House, p. 12; April 13, 1986, Helen Thomas, review of Bess W. Truman, p. 9; October 28, 1990, Marilyn Stasio, review of

Murder at the National Cathedral, p. 41; August 16, 1998, Charles Salzberg, review of Murder at the Watergate.

People Weekly, September 15, 1997, Jeff Brown, review of Murder in the House, p. 50.

Publishers Weekly, August 3, 1990, Sybil Steinberg, review of Murder at the National Cathedral, p. 65; April 25, 1994, review of Murder on the Potomac, p. 60; June 15, 1998, review of Murder at the Watergate, p. 46; May 22, 2000, review of Murder in Foggy Bottom, p. 77; July 30, 2001, review of

Murder in Havana, p. 65; October 21, 2002, review of Murder at Ford's Theatre, p. 58; August 4, 2003, review of The President's House, p. 63; August 9, 2004, review of Murder at Union Station, p. 234; August 29, 2005, review of Murder at the Washington Tribune, p. 36.

School Library Journal, March, 1996, Debbie Hyman, review of First Ladies, p. 234; May, 1997, Debbie Hyman, review of Murder at the National Gallery, p. 165; December, 1997, Claudia Moore, review of

Murder in the House, p. 154; March, 2003, Pam Johnson, review of Murder at Ford's Theatre, p. 260; July, 2004, Peggy Bercher, review of The President's House, p. 134; March, 2005, Karen Sokol, review of Murder at Union Station, p. 243.

Time, May 19, 1986, review of Bess W. Truman.

Washington Post, June 27, 1983, Dan McCoubrey, review of Murder in the Smithsonian, p. B4.

Washington Post Book World, August 18, 1985, review of Murder at the FBI, p. 8; November 15, 1987, review of Murder in the CIA, p. 10; June 19, 1994, review of Murder on the Potomac, p. 6.