Sarah Orne Jewett

by Elizabeth Silverthorne

Traces the life of the nineteenth-century writer, describes her interest in ecology, feminism, and architectural preservation, and discusses her major works

238 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1993

Reviews

[Anson Cassel Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

Elizabeth Silverthorne (1924-2021) taught English and children’s literature at several public colleges in Texas and eventually wrote more than 25 books, many of them for children. This biography of the short story writer Sarah Orne Jewett (1849-1909) is intended for adults but has both the strengths and weaknesses of children’s literature. For instance, it features a simple, well-researched chronological narrative but with little analysis beyond plot summaries and snippets of favorable criticism.

While I have no idea of the nature of the relationship between Jewett and Annie Adams Fields (1834-1915)—Silverthorne calls it “an area of heated controversy”—I’m pretty sure Jewett would have hated most modern studies of her life and work, the sort that suggest her importance to the 21st century lies only in her putative lesbianism. Though Silverthorne lacks Jewett’s literary sensibility, I think Jewett would have recognized herself in her biographer’s portrait and approved of it.

[C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was kind of nice but also kind of boring. It was written in quite a boring way, but I liked learning about this author who I'd never heard of and her life - and particularly about all of her female friendships and her possible lesbianism.

[Colleen O'Neill Conlan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good introduction to Jewett's life. The jacket copy calls it "in-depth" and suggests that it discusses her "Boston marriage" with friend and companion, Annie Fields. I found it to be more of a surface report. Maybe it's in-depth compared to the biographies that came before.

No matter. Jewett was an interesting woman, and it's a pleasure to read more about her life, even if the jacket copy led me to expect more.