Eleanor H. Porter

Eleanor Emily Hodgman Porter (December 19, 1868 – May 21, 1920) was an American novelist, most known for Pollyanna (1913) and Just David (1916).

Eleanor H. Porter
Porter circa 1890-1900
BornEleanor Emily Hodgman
(1868-12-19)December 19, 1868
Littleton, New Hampshire, USA
DiedMay 21, 1920(1920-05-21) (aged 51)
Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

Biography

Eleanor Emily Hodgman was born in Littleton, New Hampshire, on December 19, 1868, the daughter of Llewella French (née Woolson) and Francis Fletcher Hodgman.[1][2] She was trained as a singer, attending the New England Conservatory for several years. In 1892 she married John Lyman Porter and relocated to Massachusetts, after which she began writing and publishing her short stories and, later, novels. She died in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on May 21, 1920, and was buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery.[3]

Grave of Eleanor H. Porter, Mount Auburn Cemetery

Works

Porter wrote mainly children's literature, adventure stories, and romance fiction. Her most famous novel is Pollyanna (1913), followed by a sequel, Pollyanna Grows Up (1915).

Her adult novels include The Turn of the Tide (1908), The Road to Understanding (1917), Oh Money! Money! (1918), Dawn (1919), Keith's Dark Tower (1919), Mary Marie (1920) and Sister Sue (1921); her short-story collections include Across the Years (c. 1919), Money, Love and Kate (1923), and Little Pardner (1926).

Porter achieved considerable commercial success: Pollyanna ranked eighth among best-selling novels in the United States during 1913, second during 1914, and fourth during 1915 (with 47 printings between 1915 and 1920); Just David ranked third in 1916; The Road to Understanding ranked fourth in 1917; and Oh Money! Money! ranked fifth in 1918.[4]

Bibliography

Short stories

Novels
  • Cross Currents (1907)
  • The Turn of the Tide (1908)
  • The Story of Marco (1911)
  • Miss Billy (1911)
  • Miss Billy's Decision (1912)
  • Pollyanna (1913)
  • The Sunbridge Girls at Six Star Ranch (1913)
  • Miss Billy Married (1914)
  • Pollyanna Grows Up (1915)
  • Just David (1916)
  • The Road to Understanding (1917)
  • Oh, Money! Money! (1918)
  • The Tangled Threads (1919)
  • Dawn (1919)
  • Mary Marie (1920)

References
  1. "Eleanor H. Porter - Biography and Works. Search Texts, Read Online. Discuss". www.online-literature.com.
  2. "Ancestry of Bill Richardson". www.wargs.com.
  3. "Funeral Tuesday Of Eleanor H. Porter". Boston Globe. May 23, 1920. Retrieved 2011-05-11. The funeral of Mrs. Eleanor H. Porter, famous as the author of stories of happy children, of which the "Pollyanna" stories are the best known, will be held Tuesday afternoon at 2.30 from her home, 33 Washington ave, Cambridge.
  4. Burt, Daniel S. (2004). The chronology of American literature: America's literary achievements from the colonial era to modern times. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp. 321, 328, 339. ISBN 978-0-618-16821-7.
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