Sarah Orne Jewett facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sarah Orne Jewett
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Jewett in 1894
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| Born | Theodora Sarah Orne Jewett September 3, 1849 South Berwick, Maine, U.S. |
| Died | June 24, 1909 (aged 59) South Berwick, Maine, U.S. |
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| Literary movement | American literary regionalism |
| Notable works | The Country of the Pointed Firs |
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Sarah Orne Jewett (born September 3, 1849 – died June 24, 1909) was an American writer. She wrote novels, short stories, and poems. She is famous for her stories about life in small towns along the coast of Maine. These stories are part of a style called local color writing, which focuses on the unique ways people live in specific places.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Sarah Orne Jewett was born in South Berwick, Maine, on September 3, 1849. Her family had lived in New England for many generations.
Her father, Theodore Herman Jewett, was a doctor. He often took Sarah with him when he visited patients. This helped her learn a lot about the people and places in her home state. Her mother was Caroline Frances (Perry).
When Sarah was young, she developed a condition called rheumatoid arthritis, which affected her joints. To help with this, she was encouraged to take many walks. These walks helped her develop a deep love for nature.
Later in life, Jewett often visited Boston. There, she met many important writers of her time. But she always returned to South Berwick. The small towns near her home inspired the places in her stories, like "Deephaven" and "Dunnet Landing."
Jewett went to Miss Olive Rayne's school and then to Berwick Academy. She graduated in 1866. She also learned a lot by reading books from her family's large library.
Writing Career
In 1868, when she was 18, Jewett published her first important story, "Jenny Garrow's Lovers." It appeared in The Flag of Our Union. Her writing became more well-known throughout the 1870s and 1880s. For her early stories, Jewett sometimes used the pen names "Alice Eliot" or "A. C. Eliot."
Jewett's writing is important because she carefully described country life. She focused on the small details and unique ways of speaking in specific places. This is what "local color" writing is all about. The writer William Dean Howells once said that Jewett had "an uncommon feeling for talk — I hear your people."
She became famous for her short novel The Country of the Pointed Firs (1896). Other important works include A Country Doctor (1884), a novel inspired by her father and her own early wish to be a doctor. Her collection of short stories, A White Heron (1886), is also considered some of her best work.
Some of Jewett's poems were collected in a book called Verses (1916). She also wrote three books for children. The famous writer Willa Cather said that Jewett greatly influenced her own writing. Cather even dedicated her 1913 novel O Pioneers! to Jewett.
In 1901, Bowdoin College gave Jewett an honorary doctorate degree. She was the first woman to receive such an honor from Bowdoin. After she died in 1909, The Boston Globe newspaper wrote that the strength of her work came from its "detail," "fine touches," and "simplicity."
Personal Life and Friendships
Sarah Orne Jewett had many close friendships with women. Her letters and diaries show these strong bonds.
Later, Jewett became very close friends with writer Annie Adams Fields (1834–1915). Annie's husband, James T. Fields, was an editor for Atlantic Monthly magazine.
After James Fields died suddenly in 1881, Jewett visited Annie to offer comfort. Annie found great support in Jewett's visits, and their friendship grew. Jewett and Fields began living together. They shared homes in Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA, and in Boston. They were companions for nearly 30 years, until Jewett's death.
Jewett and Fields enjoyed spending time with other women who had similar close friendships. They found "friendship, humor, and literary encouragement" in each other's company. They traveled to Europe together and hosted many famous writers and thinkers from America and Europe. In France, Jewett met Thérèse Blanc-Bentzon, who translated some of Jewett's stories into French.
On September 3, 1902, Jewett was in a carriage accident. This accident mostly ended her writing career. She had a stroke in March 1909 and died in her South Berwick home after another stroke on June 24, 1909.
After Jewett's death, Annie Adams Fields published their letters in 1911. These letters show the deep bond and friendship between the two women.
Jewett House
The Sarah Orne Jewett House is the family home where Jewett lived. It was built in 1774 in the Georgian style. It is located in South Berwick and is now a National Historic Landmark and a museum run by Historic New England. Jewett and her sister Mary inherited the house in 1887.
Selected Works
Novels
- Deephaven, 1877
- A Country Doctor, 1884
- A Marsh Island, 1885
- Betty Leicester: A Story for Girls, 1890
- Betty Leicester's English Christmas: A New Chapter of an Old Story, 1894
- The Country of the Pointed Firs, 1896
- The Tory Lover, 1901
Short Story and Short Fiction Collections
- Play Days, 1878
- Old Friends and New, 1879
- Country By-Ways, 1881
- Katy's Birthday with Other Stories, 1883
- The Mate of the Daylight, and Friends Ashore, 1884
- A White Heron and Other Stories, 1886
- The King of Folly Island and Other People, 1888
- Tales of New England, 1890
- Strangers and Wayfarers, 1890
- A Native of Winby and Other Tales, 1893
- The Life of Nancy, 1895
- The Queen's Twin and Other Stories, 1899
- An Empty Purse: A Christmas Story, 1905
Poetry
- Verses, 1916
Non-Fiction
- The Story of the Normans, Told Chiefly in Relation to Their Conquest of England, 1887
See also
In Spanish: Sarah Orne Jewett para niños
