Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman
Encyclopedia
Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman (October 31, 1852 – March 13, 1930) was a prominent 19th century American author
.
, and attended Mount Holyoke College
(then, Mount Holyoke Female Seminary) in South Hadley, Massachusetts
, for one year, from 1870–71. Freeman's parents were orthodox Congregationalists, causing her to have a very strict childhood. Religious constraints play a key role in some of her works. She later finished her education at West Brattleboro Seminary. She passed the greater part of her life in Massachusetts and Vermont
.
Freeman began writing stories and verse
for children while still a teenager to help support her family and was quickly successful. Her best known work was written in the 1880s and 1890s while she lived in Randolph. She produced more than two dozen volumes of published short stories
and novel
s. She is best known for two collections of stories, A Humble Romance and Other Stories (1887) and A New England Nun
and Other Stories (1891). Her stories deal mostly with New England
life and are among the best of their kind. Freeman is also remembered for her novel Pembroke (1894), and she contributed a notable chapter to the collaborative novel The Whole Family
(1908). In 1902 she married Dr. Charles M. Freeman of Metuchen, New Jersey
.
In April 1926, Freeman became the first recipient of the William Dean Howells
Medal for Distinction in Fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters
. She died in Metuchen and was interred in Hillside Cemetery in Scotch Plains, New Jersey
.
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
.
Biography
She was born in Randolph, MassachusettsRandolph, Massachusetts
The Town of Randolph is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 32,112. Randolph adopted a new charter effective January 2010 providing for a council-manager form of government instead of the traditional town meeting...
, and attended Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College is a liberal arts college for women in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It was the first member of the Seven Sisters colleges, and served as a model for some of the others...
(then, Mount Holyoke Female Seminary) in South Hadley, Massachusetts
South Hadley, Massachusetts
South Hadley is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 17,514 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area....
, for one year, from 1870–71. Freeman's parents were orthodox Congregationalists, causing her to have a very strict childhood. Religious constraints play a key role in some of her works. She later finished her education at West Brattleboro Seminary. She passed the greater part of her life in Massachusetts and Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
.
Freeman began writing stories and verse
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
for children while still a teenager to help support her family and was quickly successful. Her best known work was written in the 1880s and 1890s while she lived in Randolph. She produced more than two dozen volumes of published short stories
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
and novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s. She is best known for two collections of stories, A Humble Romance and Other Stories (1887) and A New England Nun
A New England Nun
"A New England Nun" is a short story written by Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman in 1891.-Plot summary:"A New England Nun" is the story of Louisa Ellis, a woman who has lived alone for many years. Louisa is somewhat of an eccentric, as she likes to keep her house meticulously clean, wear multiple...
and Other Stories (1891). Her stories deal mostly with New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
life and are among the best of their kind. Freeman is also remembered for her novel Pembroke (1894), and she contributed a notable chapter to the collaborative novel The Whole Family
The Whole Family
The Whole Family: a Novel by Twelve Authors is a collaborative novel told in twelve chapters, each by a different author. This unusual project was conceived by novelist William Dean Howells and carried out under the direction of Harper's Bazaar editor Elizabeth Jordan, who would write one of the...
(1908). In 1902 she married Dr. Charles M. Freeman of Metuchen, New Jersey
Metuchen, New Jersey
Metuchen is a Borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States, which is 8 miles northeast of New Brunswick, 18 miles southwest of Newark, 24 miles southwest of Jersey City, and 29 miles southwest of Manhattan, all part of the New York metropolitan area...
.
In April 1926, Freeman became the first recipient of the William Dean Howells
William Dean Howells
William Dean Howells was an American realist author and literary critic. Nicknamed "The Dean of American Letters", he was particularly known for his tenure as editor of the Atlantic Monthly as well as his own writings, including the Christmas story "Christmas Every Day" and the novel The Rise of...
Medal for Distinction in Fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters
The American Academy of Arts and Letters
The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 250-member honor society; its goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Located in Washington Heights, a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan in New York, it shares Audubon Terrace, its Beaux Arts campus on...
. She died in Metuchen and was interred in Hillside Cemetery in Scotch Plains, New Jersey
Scotch Plains, New Jersey
Scotch Plains is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the township population increased to a record high of 23,510.-History:...
.
Works
- Decorative Plaques (1883)
- The Adventures of Ann (1886)
- A Humble Romance and Other Stories (1887)
- A New England NunA New England Nun"A New England Nun" is a short story written by Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman in 1891.-Plot summary:"A New England Nun" is the story of Louisa Ellis, a woman who has lived alone for many years. Louisa is somewhat of an eccentric, as she likes to keep her house meticulously clean, wear multiple...
and Other Stories (1891) - Young Lucretia and Other Stories (1892)
- The Pot of Gold and Other Stories (1892)
- Jane Field (1892)
- Giles Corey (1893)
- Pembroke (1894)
- Comfort Pease and Her Gold Ring (1895)
- Madelon (1896)
- Once Upon A Time (1897)
- Jerome, a Poor Man (1897)
- Silence, and other Stories (1898)
- People of Our Neighborhood (1898)
- In Colonial Times (1899)
- The Jamesons (1899)
- Evelina's Garden (1899)
- The Love of Parson Lord and Other Stories (1900)
- The Heart's Highway (1900)
- Understudies (1901)
- The Portion of Labor (1901)
- A Far-Away Melody and Other Stories (1902)
- Six Trees (1903)
- The Wind in the Rose Bush and Other Stories of the Supernatural (1903)
- The Givers and Other Stories (1904)
- The Debtor (1905)
- Doc Gordon (1906)
- The Fair Lavinia, and Others (1907)
- By the Light of the Soul (1907)
- The Shoulders of Atlas (1908)
- The Winning Lady, and Others (1909)
- The Green Door (1910)
- The Butterfly House (1912)
- The Yates Pride (1912)
- The Copy–Cat, and Other Stories (1914)
- An Alabaster Box (1917)
- Edgewater People (1918)
- The Best Stories of Mary E. Wilkins (1927)
- Collected Ghost StoriesCollected Ghost StoriesCollected Ghost Stories is a collection of stories by author Mary E. Wilkins-Freeman. It was released in 1974 by Arkham House in an edition of 4,155 copies...
(1974)