The Egg and I

The Egg and I
Dust jacket from 1946 edition
AuthorBetty MacDonald
LanguageEnglish
GenreHumor
PublisherJ. B. Lippincott
Publication date
1945
Publication placeUnited States
Pages287
ISBN978-0-06-091428-8
LC ClassAGR 45-336

The Egg and I, first published in 1945, is a humorous memoir by American author Betty MacDonald about her adventures and travels as a young wife on a chicken farm on the Olympic Peninsula in the US state of Washington. The book is based on the author's experiences as a newlywed trying to acclimate to and operate a small chicken farm near Chimacum, Washington, with her first husband, Robert Heskett, from 1927 to 1931. On visits with her family in Seattle, she told stories of their tribulations, which greatly amused them. In the 1940s, MacDonald's older sister, Mary, strongly encouraged her to write a book about these experiences. The Egg and I was MacDonald's first attempt at writing a book.