Georgian Court University’s Lakewood campus will continue to operate virtually throughout the day on Wednesday January 28, 2026. All university offices, including the library, will also operate virtually. Classes will continue online to the extent possible. Students should consult Blackboard Learn for specific course information.

For in-person classes not held on the Lakewood campus, GCU classes will follow the closure or cancellation decisions of the host location.

Nursing faculty please contact Dean Wurmser in reference to clinical attendance.

Raymond Hall Dining Room will be open from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. The Café will be closed.

The Wellness Center will operate under normal hours.

Mary Chinery

Mary Chinery, Ph.D.

Dean, School of Arts, Sciences, and Education, Professor of English
732-987-2341
E-MAIL ME

School:

School of Arts, Sciences, and Education

Department:

English and Interdisciplinary Studies

Office Location:

Raymond Hall (105)

Office Hours:

email me at mchinery@georgian.edu

Educational Background

  • Ph.D. in English, Caspersen School of Graduate Studies, Drew University.
    • M.Phil., English, Drew University; Exams in Early American Literature, Harlem Renaissance, American Drama, Emily Dickinson, American Religious History to 1800; French and German (translation exams);
  • M.A. English (Concentration in American Literature), Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts;
  • B.A.  English (second major in Religious Studies), Georgian Court College, Lakewood, New Jersey; magna cum laude.

Professional Experience

  • Georgian Court University, Lakewood, New Jersey, 08701
  • Dean, School of Arts, Sciences, and Education, 2016-
  • Assistant Provost; Associate Dean; Interim Chair of the Department of Communications and Graphic Design;
  • Program Director, Humanities (now Interdisciplinary Studies);
  • Chair of English and Communications.

Research / Creativity Interest Area

Twentieth Century American literature; American drama; performance history; women’s literature; Edith Wharton; Willa Cather; LGBTQIA.

Additional Information

Select Publications
  • “Willa Cather, G.I. Fan Letters, and the Armed Services Editions during the Second World War.” Cather Studies, Forthcoming.
  • “‘I believe my play is really ‘going through'”: Edith Wharton’s The Shadow of a Doubt: A Play in Three Acts in Performance.” Edith Wharton Review 39.2 (2023): 142-165.
  • “Re-Forming Manon: A New History of Edith Wharton’s 1901 Play, Manon Lescaut.” Edith Wharton Review 35.1 (2019). 47-74.
  • with Laura Rattray. “The Shadow of a Doubt:  Discovering a New Work by Edith Wharton.” The Edith Wharton Review 33.1 (June 2017). 88-112.
  • With Laura Rattray. “The Shadow of a Doubt: A Play in Three Acts by Edith Wharton.” Edith Wharton Review. 33.1 (2017): 113-257.
  • “Wartime Fictions: Willa Cather, the Armed Services Editions, and the Unspeakable Second World War.” Cather Studies 6 (2006): 285-296.
  • Carnival in the Novels of Willa Cather: When the World Becomes Grotesque. Lewiston, NY: The Edwin Mellen Press, 2011.
  • “The Provincetown Players and the Harlem Renaissance.”  Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance. Eds. Cary D. Wintz and Paul Finkelman. New York: Routledge, 2004. 2 vols. 998-1000.
  • “Willa Cather and the Santos Tradition in Death Comes for the Archbishop.” Willa Cather and the American Southwest. Eds. John Swift and Joseph Urgo. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2002. 97-107.
Select Presentations
  • Introduction.” Peter Hinton Davis & HAUI. The Shadow of a Doubt. Wharton Revisited Series July 28, 2024. The Mount. Edith Wharton’s Home. Lenox, Massachusetts.
  • “Nellie Birdseye, Sarah Bernhardt’s Hamlet, and the Theatrical Context of Willa Cather’s 1926 My Mortal Enemy.”18th International Cather Seminar, “Bright, Beautiful, and Alive”: Willa Cather’s New York Intersections, New York City. June 2023.
  • “Edith Wharton as Playwright.” American Literature Research Center. Rothermere American Institute. University of Oxford (U.K.). Panel with Laura Rattray, U of Glasgow, and Daniel Abdalla, U of Oxford. 28 May 2020. Virtual.
  • “Janet Flanner’s Dislocating Geographies of Paris, Europe, and War World II.” Society for the Study of American Women Writers, Bordeaux, France, July 2017.
  • “Edith Wharton, Edith Gould, and the Controversy over Wharton’s Play, ‘The Twilight of the God.'”Wharton in Washington, Washington D.C.  June 2016.
Interviews and Talks
  • “Edith Wharton, Edith Gould, and the Story Behind The Shadow of a Doubt.” The Gilded Age Experience, Georgian Court Univeristy, March 2025.
  • Grode, Eric. “After 122 Years, A Debut of a Play by Edith Wharton.” New York Times 24 August 2023. Section C, Page 2. Aug. 24, 2023,
    • https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/23/theater/edith-wharton-lost-play-debut.html.
  • “Talkback.” Post-performance interview with cast and director for The Shadow of a Doubt, by Edith Wharton, staged Reading at Red Bull Theatre. 29 January 2019. Lucille Lortel Theatre, New York City. https://www.redbulltheater.com/the-shadow-of-a-doubt.
  • “Speaking of Art.” “Dr. Mary Chinery Resurrects Lost Play by Edith Wharton.” Interview with Edwin Hoffman, October 20, 2018 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. on WAAM. Ann Arbor, Michigan.
  • HowlRound. Theatre History Podcast with Michael Lueger. Episode 34: Dr. Mary Chinery and Dr. Laura Rattray on Edith Wharton’s The Shadow of a Doubt. https://howlround.com/theatre-history-podcast-34. June 2017.
  • “Literary Mystery Solved: New Jersey Professor Tracks Down Lost Wharton Play.” Interview with John Ensslin. The Record. July 10, 2017. Article and interview on Soundcloud.
  • Blakemore, Erin. Scholars Rediscover Forgotten Edith Wharton Play, Smithsonian Magazine, May 31, 2017.
  • Kommami, Nadia.  Unseen Edith Wharton play found hidden in Texas archive | Edith Wharton | The Guardian 1 June 2017.
  • “Unearthing a Forgotten Edith Wharton Play. Interview by Amy Stern with Mary Chinery and Laura Rattray. JSTOR. 5 June 2017. https://daily.jstor.org/unearthing-a-forgotten-edith-wharton-play/
  • “Speaking of Art.” With Dr. Mike Gross. “Georgian Court—a Gilded Age Retreat.” Interview with Edwin Hoffman, September 17, 2017.   3:00 – 4:00 p.m. on WAAM. Ann Arbor, Michigan.
  • “Wharton’s Work Pulled from the Shadows of History.” Interview by Kate Abbot. The Berkshire Eagle. 9 June 2017. https://www.berkshireeagle.com/stories/whartons-work-pulled-from-the-shadows-of-history,510014.
  • Meade, Rebecca. “  ‘A Lost Edith Wharton Play Emerges From Scholarly Sleuthing’ – from The New Yorker, May 26, 2017.
Professional and Occasional Writing
  • with Laura Rattray. Liner Notes. The Shadow of a Doubt, by Edith Wharton, staged Reading at Red Bull Theatre. 29 January 2019. Lucille Lortel Theatre, New York City.
  • “About A Shadow of a Doubt.” Shaw Magazine for Friends and Partners, Summer 2023, p. 11.

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