Dr. Seuss

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Comment by Nicolle Heller on January 3rd, 2013 at 2:06 pm

A man of high ethical standards? Dr. Seuss? Really? Your description of him is lacking in fact. As much as I and my children enjoy his artistic endeavors, he was not particularly ethical in his personal life. Your description of how he met his second wife (Audrey) is inaccurate, as well. He did not meet her after his wife (Helen) committed suicide. He and his wife were best friends with his second wife and her husband for years and then had an affair with her. Geisel then took her to Reno so she could establish residency for the required 6 weeks to gain her divorce from her husband. She had two children with her hubby.

Here are some quotes from the main players for you:

Ted about marrying Audrey: “On the 21st of June, Audrey Dimond is going to Reno to divorce Grey Dimond … Audrey and I are going to be married about the first week in August. I am acquiring two daughters, aged nine and fourteen. I am rebuilding the house to take care of the influx. I am 64 years old. I am marrying a woman eighteen years younger … I have not flipped my lid. This is not a sudden nutty decision … This is an inevitable, inescapable conclusion to five years of four people’s frustration. All I can ask you is to try to believe in me.”
Source: Judith and Neil Morgan. Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel: A Biography. pg. 201.

Helen’s last note to Ted: “Dear Ted, What has happened to us? I don’t know. I feel myself in a spiral, going down down down, into a black hole from which there is no escape, no brightness. And loud in my ears from every side I hear, ‘failure, failure, failure… I love you so much … I am too old and enmeshed in everything you do and are, that I cannot conceive of life without you … My going will leave quite a rumor but you can say I was overworked and overwrought. Your reputation with your friends and fans will not be harmed … Sometimes think of the fun we had all thru the years …”
Source: Judith and Neil Morgan. Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel: A Biography. pg. 195.

Please amend your description of Mr. Geisel. Thank you.

Comment by Jennifer Tanabe on January 4th, 2013 at 2:19 pm

Thank you, Nicolle, for your helpful comment. The phrase has been removed and the article will be revised to include the inaccuracies in his personal life.

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