Sarah Orne Jewett

The Queen's Twin and Other Stories (Dodo Press) Sarah Orne Jewett

Sarah Orne Jewett (1849-1909) who wrote under the pen name Alice Eliot was an American novelist and short story writer best known for her local colour works. She supplemented her education through an extensive family library. She published her first important story in the Atlantic Monthly at age 19, and her reputation grew throughout the 1870s and ‘80s. Her literary importance arises from her careful, if subdued, vignettes of country life that reflect a contemporary interest in local colour rather than plot. Most characteristic works include the novella The Country of the Pointed Firs (1896), A Country Doctor (1884), a novel about a New England girl who rejects marriage to become a doctor; and The White Heron (1886), a collection of short stories. Some of Jewett’s poetry was collected in Verses (1916), and she also wrote three children’s books. Willa Cather described Jewett as a significant influence on her development as a writer, and “feminist critics have since championed her writing for its rich account of women’s lives and voices. ” She also wrote The Queen’s Twin and Other Stories (1899).