A M E R I C A N N O V E L S --------------- ----------- 1947 First Show: Jul 04, 1947 Last Show: Oct 03, 1947 Number Shows: 14 Audition Show: none Show Description: NBC launched it's "University of the Air" (aka: Inter-American University of the Air) in 1942, following the example of CBS, with their "American School of the Air". The University created a number of educational series, such as THE STORY OF MUSIC, OUR FOREIGN POLICY, AMERICAN STORY and THE PACIFIC STORY, to name a few. NBC offered companion handbooks for many of them. One of these was AMERICAN NOVELS, which was a series of 14 shows that aired in the summer of 1947. All shows were produced in Chicago. Another product of NBC's University of the air, WORLD'S GREAT NOVELS, ran from 1944 through 1948. AMERICAN STORY appears to be an attempt to do for the American novel what it had done for general classic literature. According to the New York Times, AMERICAN NOVELS was a partial summer replacement for WORLD'S GREAT NOVELS. Like it's longer running brother, AMERICAN NOVELS offered solid adaptations, closely following the original work. Four of the adaptations were done in two parts. The remainder were done as single 30-minute shows. In New Your, the series aired initially aired on Fridays at 9:00 PM on WNBC (660 KHz), NBC's New York flagship station. After the first six shows, it was moved to the 11:30 PM time slot used by WORLD's GREAT NOVELS. The series, like other educational series, was sustained for the full run. List Comments: According to information in J. David Goldin's OTR database, all shows have survived but some may be incomplete. Trying to find them in vendor's catalogs is difficult. Of all that I have access to, only Ed Carr listed one and McCoy listed a few more (see references below). Dick Judge offered all shows. Chronological Log: Date Num Title Avail ------------ --- ------------------------------------ ----- ... NY Times: Fridays at 9:00 PM ... Jul 04, 1947 1 "Moby Dick" yes by Herman Melville Jul 11, 1947 2 "The Scarlet Letter" yes by Nathaniel Hawthorne Jul 18, 1947 3 "Tom Sawyer", part 1 of 2 yes by Mark Twain Jul 25, 1947 4 "Tom Sawyer", part 2 of 2 yes Aug 01, 1947 5 "The Pilot" yes by James Fenimore Cooper Aug 08, 1947 6 "The Luck of Roaring Camp" yes by Bret Harte ... NY Times: Fridays at 11:30 PM ... Aug 15, 1947 7 "Ramona", part 1 of 2 yes by Helen Hunt Jackson Aug 22, 1947 8 "Ramona", part 2 of 2 yes Aug 28, 1947 9 "Hoosier Schoolmaster", part 1 of 2 yes by Edward Eggleston Sep 05, 1947 10 "Hoosier Schoolmaster", part 2 of 2 yes Sep 12, 1947 11 "Life On The Mississippi" yes by Mark Twain Sep 19, 1947 12 "The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow" yes by Washington Irving Sep 26, 1947 13 "Little Women", part 1 of 2 yes by Louisa May Alcott Oct 03, 1947 14 "Little Women", part 2 of 2 yes List By Author: Author Title Date ---------------------- ----------------------------- ------------ Alcott, Louisa May "Little Women" Part 1 Sep 26, 1947 Part 2 Oct 03, 1947 Cooper, James Fenimore "The Pilot" Aug 01, 1947 Eggleston, Edward "Hoosier Schoolmaster" Part 1 Aug 28, 1947 Part 2 Sep 05, 1947 Harte, Bret "The Luck of Roaring Camp" Aug 08, 1947 Hawthorne, Nathaniel "The Scarlet Letter" Jul 11, 1947 Irving, Washington "The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow" Sep 19, 1947 Jackson, Helen Hunt "Ramona" Part 1 Aug 15, 1947 Part 2 Aug 22, 1947 Melville, Herman "Moby Dick" Jul 04, 1947 Twain, Mark "Life On The Mississippi" Sep 12, 1947 "Tom Sawyer" Part 1 Jul 18, 1947 Part 2 Jul 25, 1947 References: * New York Times, Chicago Daily Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post radio listings, from J. Jones' Newspaper Radio Logs, http://www.jjonz.us/RadioLogs * GOLDINdex database, J. David Goldin, Box 542, Newtown, CT 06470 (http://www.radiogoldindex.com) * OTR club and vendor catalogs or web sites: * Edward J. Carr, 216 Shaner St., Boyertown, PA 19512. * McCoy's Recordings Inc., Pat McCoy, PO Box 1069, Richland, Wash. 99352 * Memories Of Radio, Dick Judge, PO Box 67800, Rochester NY 14617 Last Update: May 20, 2004 This log is informational only. It does not imply that I or my references have these shows for trade or sale. The shows may still be protected under copyright law and should be obtained only from authorized dealers. The log may be freely reproduced and published on a no-profit basis. Please send error corrections or additional information to Frank M. Passage, 109 Elmwood Road, Verona, NJ 07044 (email: wb2ntp@arrl.net).