It began as a dissertation for her Ph.D. in American Studies, but ended in the publication of her first novel.
Aileen O’Connor Cronin, a former Lake Orion school teacher and Bloomfield Hills resident, is celebrating the completion of her first novel, a biography of Carlotta Monterey O’Neil, the late wife of author Eugene O’Neil. Cronin said the book has been 10 years in the making.
‘It began as a topic for my dissertation,? Cronin said. ‘I fought for a biographical approach. Everyone who read it said if you dusted off the dissertation, it would make a good read.?
Born and raised in Lake Orion, Cronin taught for Lake Orion Schools for 30 years, teaching vocal music, humanities and drama at the high school and both original junior high schools. She retired in 2000 and said she always knew she would become a writer.
‘It was more of a dream,? she said. ‘This is just too fun.?
‘Carlotta? was published by friend Van Antwerp and Beale Publishers in Royal Oak. Cronin traveled to Harvard, Princeton and Yale, as well as the Billy Rose Theatre in New York, researching her book.
‘I’m interested in people and I love biographies,? she said. ‘I came across Carlotta in drama studies…I always loved Eugene O’Neil, and I found out he had this wife Carlotta.?
Cronin investigated Carlotta at the Billy Rose Theatre Collection and almost ‘flipped? when she discovered Carlotta was listed as her own entity.
‘She had two husbands who were creative geniuses,? she said. ‘I called the book ‘Carlotta Monterey: A Modern Opportunist.? She became a model and she was very self-propelled.?
Cronin said Carlotta was ‘beautiful, and also very shrewd.?
‘She kind of reinvented herself every decade…(the book) sort of traces American culture from the Victorian era to when she died in 1970,? Cronin added.
Cronin compares Carlotta to Zelda Fitzgerald or Frida Kahlo, as a talented woman sometimes seen in her husband’s shadow.
‘Her third husband Ralph Barton was a cartoonist…he became a household name and partied with the Gershwins and Charlie Chaplin,? Cronin said. ‘O’Neil’s daughter Oona married Charlie Chaplin when he was 56…they had a very happy marriage.?
Cronin’s research for her book even took her to O’Neil’s Tao House in San Francisco, now a national park.
‘I couldn’t believe I was at this place where he wrote his late, great tragedies,? she said.
Cronin’s book is being reviewed by the San Francisco Chronicle, and the president of the Eugene O’Neil Society has read it.
‘It’s only been out six weeks,? Cronin said. ‘I’m already writing another one, fiction. It’s called ‘Ronnoco Ridge,’O’Connor spelled backwards. It’s all about family dysfunction.?
Cronin has gotten tremendous support for her writing from husband George, a real estate developer, and sons George Jr. and Kean, both 26, and son Patrick, 21.
‘All my boys are in the arts or theatre arts,? she said. ‘They’ve all been so supportive…I haven’t cooked a meal in 10 years.
‘They say (Carlotta) has real cinematic possibilities. We’ve had fun picking who’s going to play Carlotta. Before it was Annette Benning, now it’s Catherine Zeta-Jones.?
Anyone interested in purchasing a copy of ‘Carlotta Monterey: A Modern Opportunist? can email Aileen Cronin at Aileencronin@hotmail.com, or call her at (248) 540-4306.