His Interpreter

by Onoto Watanna

Winnifred Eaton was a Canadian author and screenwriter. Although she was of Chinese-British ancestry, she published under the Japanese pseudonym Onoto Watanna and under the name Winifred Reeve. Eaton was only 14 when one of her stories was accepted for publication by a Montreal newspaper. Before long she also had articles published in several popular magazines in the United States, notably the Ladies' Home Journal. Under this pseudonym Onoto Watanna, she published romance novels and short stories that were widely read throughout the United States. In 1900, Eaton moved to New York City, where her second major novel, A Japanese Nightingale, was published. It proved extremely successful, being translated into several languages and eventually adapted both as a Broadway play and then, in 1918, as a motion picture.

42 pages, Paperback

First published April 11, 2008

About the author

Onoto Watanna is a pseudonym for Winnifred Eaton (her maiden name) or Winnifred Eaton Reeve (her married name).

From Onoto Watanna: The Story of Winnifred Eaton
"In 1901, the young Winnifred Eaton arrived in New York City with literary ambitions, journalistic experience, and the manuscript for A Japanese Nightingale, the novel that would sell many thousands of copies and make her famous. Hers is a real Horatio Alger story, with fascinating added dimensions of race and gender."