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158:(April 3, 1835 – August 14, 1921) was an American writer of novels, poems and detective stories. One of the United States's most widely-published authors, her career spanned more than six decades and included many literary genres, such as short stories, poems, novels, literary criticism, biographies, and memoirs. She also wrote articles on household decorative art and travel as well as children's literature.
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and, being asked for others, she supplied one hundred during the next three years. She besieged the story paper offices of Boston with sketches and novelettes. The competition was not so great then as it later became, but it required almost incessant work — she sometimes wrote for fifteen hours a day — to cover the expenses of the family. The pay was small, and when it was reduced from
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At fourteen years of age, she moved to her aunt's home, Mrs. Betton, for better educational opportunities, and entered the Putnam Free School in
Newburyport, which had the reputation of turning out many accomplished scholars. Here, she also made herself famous among her schoolmates by writing dramas
322:, published in 1859 in Boston, was a very striking work that showed her talent for skillful plot and effective dramatic denouement, as well as a few flaws, e.g., a crudeness of thought and expression apparent, that she overcame as she gained experience. This book was reviewed at some length in the
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After graduation at the age of seventeen, a family misfortune occurred. As the eldest of the family, the entire responsibility of financial support fell upon her. The father had been stricken with paralysis, and her mother became a confirmed invalid. Soon after, her first published story appeared,
443:. Though the entire island was purchased for a permanent home, she spent many of her winters, or a portion of them, in Boston and Washington. Spofford's mother, Mrs. Prescott, died on April 1, 1883, at Deer Island, in her daughter's home. Spofford died at Deer Island on August 14, 1921.
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Her father, Joseph N. Prescott, was then a lumber merchant in Calais; afterward he studied and practised law. In 1849, he became attracted by the
Pacific coast, and, leaving his family in their Maine home, went out among the host of
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in
Washington, D. C. In her second year of marriage, a child was born, a son, who died in infancy. She penned the poem 'Lament' about the grief of her loss. Published in the January 1886 Harper's Monthly page 210.
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of the day. Her writing was ideal, intense in feeling. In her descriptions and fancies, she reveled in sensuous delights and every variety of splendor. In style, Spofford did not aim at
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In 1865, after many years of engagement, she married
Richard S. Spofford (died 1888), a Boston lawyer, and son of Dr. R. S. Spofford, a physician of Essex County; he was also cousin to
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life; he insisted that it must be a translation from the French. Upon being assured of its genuineness, he not only printed the story, but also sent its author a check for
250:, pastor of the Unitarian Church, who soon became her friend, and gave her counsel and encouragement. About this time, Mrs. Prescott, with her younger children, moved to
389:, and throughout her writings an air of peace and purity reigned. She exhibited an extraordinary affluence of language, which never appeared to be strained or affected.
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opened all other U.S. magazine offices to its writers, allowing her to become a welcome contributor to the chief periodicals of the country, both in prose and poetry.
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A Woman of the
Century: Fourteen Hundred-seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life
233:, and three times elected its mayor. In the midst of arduous work, he was seized with lingering paralysis, that made him an invalid for life.
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and at first declined to believe that any young lady could have written such a brilliant and characteristic description of
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Spofford's fiction had very little in common with what was regarded as representative of the New
England mind. Her
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613:(Ash-Tree Press, 2000) a selection of Spofford's best ghost stories with an informative introduction by Salmonson.
400:", Dickinson replied, "I read Miss Prescott's 'Circumstance,' but it followed me in the dark, so I avoided her."
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Our Famous Women: An
Authorized Record of the Lives and Deeds of Distinguished American Women of Our Times ...
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for their use on days of school exhibition; for these plays, she used historic facts and vivid language.
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on April 3, 1835, the eldest daughter of Joseph N. Prescott and Sarah
Bridges. Among her siblings was
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edited with an introduction by Alfred
Bendixen. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1989.
275:, she declined to send more. Her stories of those days were never collected or acknowledged.
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Her early environments were characterized by picturesque scenery on the one hand, and sturdy
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teachings on the other, which would later affect the themes and vision of her writing.
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were set apart by luxuriant descriptions, and an unconventional handling of female
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At the age of seventeen, she gained the Putnam school prize for the best essay on
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Her wide reputation was acquired almost at a stroke. In 1859, she sent to the
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Phelps, Elizabeth Stuart; Stowe, Harriet
Beecher; Cooke, Rose Terry (1884).
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Many notable people were allied with the Prescott family, notably Sir
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the
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Willard, Frances Elizabeth; Livermore, Mary Ashton Rice (1893).
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Restless Spirits: Ghost Stories by American Women, 1872-1926
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pioneers to seek his fortune. He was one of the founders of
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Different works of hers at Project Gutenberg Australia:
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with a letter of commendation. The endorsement of the
968:. Vol. 4 (Public domain ed.). C.W. Moulton.
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The Woman's Story: As Told by Twenty American Women
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1029:The Other Woman: Stories of Two Women and a Man
1119:"Spofford, Harriet Elizabeth (Prescott)"
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602:http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0606581.txt
1084:Works by or about Harriet Prescott Spofford
1010:(Public domain ed.). Moulton. p.
923:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography
1133:Harriet Elizabeth Prescott Spofford papers
965:The Magazine of Poetry and Literary Review
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544:The Ray of Displacement and other stories
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1203:Writers from Newburyport, Massachusetts
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166:Harriet Elizabeth Prescott was born in
124: 1865; died 1888)
841:Mrs. Spofford, Poet and Novelist, Dead
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413:Residence of Harriet Prescott Spofford
396:whether she had read Spofford's work "
1112:Internet Speculative Fiction Database
1053:. University of Massachusetts Press.
7:
595:"The Amber Gods," and Other Stories,
72:Deer Island, Amesbury, Massachusetts
1178:20th-century American women writers
1168:19th-century American women writers
1139:, Smith College Special Collections
484:Art Decoration Applied to Furniture
351:Art Decoration Applied to Furniture
326:, an art journal then published in
156:Harriet Elizabeth Prescott Spofford
1228:American women short story writers
1093:Works by Harriet Prescott Spofford
1075:Works by Harriet Prescott Spofford
917:"Spofford, Harriet Prescott"
520:A Scarlet Poppy, and Other Stories
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460:The Amber Gods, and Other Stories
353:, published in New York in 1881;
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947:(Public domain ed.). Hurst.
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335:The Amber Gods and Other Stories
292:a story entitled "In a Cellar."
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1173:20th-century American novelists
1163:19th-century American novelists
962:Moulton, Charles Wells (1892).
941:Holloway, Laura Carter (1889).
532:Old Madame, and Other Tragedies
296:was at that time editor of the
199:John Brydges, 1st Baron Chandos
121:
1218:American women mystery writers
1125:New International Encyclopedia
828:Phelps, Stowe & Cooke 1884
816:Phelps, Stowe & Cooke 1884
746:Phelps, Stowe & Cooke 1884
734:Phelps, Stowe & Cooke 1884
674:Phelps, Stowe & Cooke 1884
657:Phelps, Stowe & Cooke 1884
246:, which drew the attention of
1:
1137:Mortimer Rare Book Collection
1047:Lundie, Catherine A. (1996).
607:The Moonstone Mass and Others
337:, published in Boston, 1863;
333:Spofford's later works were:
1223:Novelists from Massachusetts
905:Resources in other libraries
889:By Harriet Prescott Spofford
881:Resources in other libraries
758:Willard & Livermore 1893
722:Willard & Livermore 1893
526:Stepping Stones To Happiness
508:Hester Stanley at St. Mark's
359:Hester Stanley at St. Mark's
1183:20th-century American poets
1099:(public domain audiobooks)
1249:
1032:. Feminist Press at CUNY.
282:Harriet P. Spofford (1889)
248:Thomas Wentworth Higginson
176:Newburyport, Massachusetts
44:Harriet Elizabeth Prescott
1198:People from Calais, Maine
1108:Harriet Prescott Spofford
1026:Koppelman, Susan (1984).
900:Resources in your library
876:Resources in your library
867:Harriet Prescott Spofford
490:The Servant Girl Question
363:The Servant Girl Question
162:Early years and education
144:
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23:Harriet Prescott Spofford
1233:Pinkerton Academy alumni
1193:American women novelists
1188:American mystery writers
611:Jessica Amanda Salmonson
562:A Little Book of Friends
462:, 1863, republished 1989
431:The Spoffords lived on
423:, the librarian of the
421:Ainsworth Rand Spofford
213:and the Hoar brothers,
205:, while more recently,
582:Harriet Waters Preston
478:The Thief in the Night
416:
347:The Thief in the Night
283:
172:Mary Newmarch Prescott
35:"Woman of the Century"
514:Ballads About Authors
425:Congressional library
411:
392:When Higginson asked
367:Ballads about Authors
281:
258:, from 1853 to 1855.
201:, and the historian,
1213:American women poets
1208:Novelists from Maine
556:The Fairy Changeling
294:James Russell Lowell
252:Derry, New Hampshire
227:California Gold Rush
98:Putnam Free School,
472:New England Legends
466:Azarian: An Episode
373:Style and reception
343:New England Legends
231:Oregon City, Oregon
203:William H. Prescott
135:1 (died in infancy)
111:Richard S. Spofford
839:(16 August 1921).
568:The Elder's People
496:Marquis of Carabas
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355:Marquis of Carabas
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207:Secretary of State
195:William Pepperrell
1079:Project Gutenberg
1039:978-0-935312-25-6
862:Library resources
454:Sir Rohan's Ghost
320:Sir Rohan's Ghost
318:Her first novel,
256:Pinkerton Academy
211:William M. Evarts
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67:(1921-08-14)
1158:1921 deaths
1153:1835 births
856:Attribution
630:Lundie 1996
433:Deer Island
383:stereotypes
349:, in 1872;
345:, in 1871;
341:, in 1864;
188:New England
87:Nationality
1147:Categories
618:References
609:edited by
538:That Betty
415:in c. 1910
79:Occupation
49:1835-04-03
140:Signature
1097:LibriVox
584:, friend
576:See also
441:Amesbury
313:Atlantic
305:Parisian
302:Bohemian
298:Atlantic
215:Ebenezer
132:Children
90:American
1135:at the
1128:. 1905.
1110:at the
1086:at the
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926:. 1900.
309:US$ 100
273:US$ 2.5
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864:about
570:, 1920
564:, 1916
558:, 1910
552:, 1906
546:, 1903
540:, 1903
534:, 1900
528:, 1897
522:, 1894
516:, 1887
510:, 1883
504:, 1882
498:, 1882
492:, 1881
486:, 1878
480:, 1872
474:, 1871
468:, 1864
456:, 1860
339:Azarim
324:Crayon
262:Career
243:Hamlet
219:George
180:Boston
106:Spouse
82:Writer
74:, U.S.
502:Poems
269:US$ 5
120:(
116:
1055:ISBN
1034:ISBN
217:and
182:and
62:Died
41:Born
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
