The Knothole (former cabin of Christopher Morley)

A Pennsylvania native, writer Christopher Morley lived much of his life on Long Island. In addition to his long career in publishing, Morley was a prolific writer and editor. While much of his writing was lighthearted and humorous, he is perhaps most well-known for his novel Kitty Foyle, about a young woman who tries to succeed in business. Morley did much of his writing, including Kitty Foyle, in a rustic cabin that he built himself and named The Knothole. After his death, a group of Morley’s friends banded together to preserve the cabin as well as their friend’s legacy. The cabin was originally located on the grounds of Morley’s home but was relocated to Christopher Morley Park.

Christopher Morley was born in Haverford, Pennsylvania in 1890. His parents were English immigrants, and it was his mother, a musician and poet, who instilled in him a love of the written word. His father was a professor of math at Haverford College, where Morley would graduate from in 1906. He was a Rhodes scholar and after his graduation, he studied history at Oxford.

When his studies at Oxford were complete, Morley returned to the United States and began a long and prolific career in writing, editing, and publishing. He worked as an editor for Doubleday and The Ladies Home Journal and wrote and edited a column for the New York Evening Post. He also selected and reviewed selections for the Book-of-the-Month club, influencing the reading choices of thousands of Americans.

Morley published more than 50 books in his lifetime, many of them humorous. He also edited two editions of Bartlett’s Quotations. But Morley is arguably most well-known for his novel, Kitty Foyle, about a young, working-class woman from Philadelphia who attempts to make a life for herself in business. That was a shocking enough premise for a novel, but the character also had an abortion, a truly scandalous decision (albeit a fictional one) for 1939, the year the book was published. The novel was adapted into a film starring Ginger Rogers, who won an Academy Award for her performance.

Morley lived much of his adult life in Roslyn, where he was active in local theater productions of his work. In 1934, to provide him with some much-needed solitude for writing, he built a small cabin, named The Knothole, for his writing. It was in The Knothole that he wrote many of his books, including Kitty Foyle. Following his death in 1957, Morley’s friends came together to preserve not only the cabin but Morley’s legacy. They preserved the writing cabin largely as Morley left it, even though his home was eventually demolished. The cabin was eventually moved to a local park which was named in honor of Morley, where it remains. 

Morley's Cabin to be Historical Site , New York Times . May 20th 1967. Accessed July 12th 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/1967/05/20/archives/morleys-writing-cabin-to-be-historical-site.html.

Scotchie, Joe . The Knothole Gang is Back, Roslyn News. February 2nd 2018. Accessed July 12th 2021. https://roslyn-news.com/the-knothole-gang-is-back/.

Reviving the "Knothole" Gang, United Federation of Teachers. June 17th 2021. Accessed July 12th 2021. https://www.uft.org/node/123979/printable/print.