Ludwig Bemelmans claimed that all his books -- including the Madeline stories, one of the best-selling series in the history of children's literature -- were autobiographical because he had no imagination. If true, it hardly mattered: on its own, his full, improbable life could have filled a library.
His father abandoned the family in Austria when Bemelmans was eight years old, and he grew up wild. His mother couldn't keep him in school, or out of trouble and, at fourteen, he was sent to his uncle to learn the hotel trade. He was fired from every job he was given, and when he fired at a fellow employee, nearly killing him, his uncle told him to choose between reform school and America ... FULL STORY »
