Stretton smith biography
- Hesba Stretton was the pseudonym of Sarah Smith, an evangelical English author of religious books for children.
- Hesba Stretton was the pseudonym of Sarah Smith (27 July 1832 – 8 October 1911), an evangelical English author of religious books for children.
- Hesba Stretton (Sarah Smith, 1832-1911), escritora, nacida el 27 de julio de 1832 en New Street, Wellington (Shropshire), era la cuarta de los ocho hijos.
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Hesba Stretton
English religious writer for children, 1832–1911
Sarah Smith | |
|---|---|
Sarah Smith | |
| Born | (1832-07-27)27 July 1832 Wellington, Shropshire, England |
| Died | 8 October 1911(1911-10-08) (aged 79) Ham, London, England |
| Pen name | Hesba Stretton |
| Occupation | Writer (novelist) |
| Nationality | English |
| Period | 19th century |
| Genre | Children's literature |
Hesba Stretton was the pseudonym of Sarah Smith (27 July 1832 – 8 October 1911), an evangelical English author of religious books for children. These were highly popular. By the late 19th century Jessica's First Prayer had sold a million and a half copies – ten times more than Alice in Wonderland.[1] She concocted "Hesba Stretton" from the initials of herself and four surviving siblings, along with the name of a Shropshire village she visited, All Stretton, where her sister Anne owned a house, Caradoc Lodge.[2]
Early life
Sarah Smith was the daughter of a bookseller, Benjamin Smith (1793–1878) of Wellington, Shropshire and his wife Anne Bakewell Smith (1798–1842), a
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At the Circulating Library
Author: Hesba Stretton
Author: Hesba Stretton (1832–1911)
Alternate Name(s): Sarah Smith (legal name)
Biography: Novelist and short-story writer. See entry in DNB or Sutherland.
References: DNB; Elaine Lomax, The Writings of Hesba Stretton: Reclaiming the Outcast (Ashgate, 2009); Sutherland
Fiction Titles:
- Fern's Hollow. 1 vol. London: R. T. S., 1864.
- The Children of Cloverley. 1 vol. London: R. T. S., 1865.
- Enoch Roden's Training. 1 vol. London: R. T. S., 1865.
- The Fishers of Derby Haven. 1 vol. London: R. T. S., 1866.
- The Clives of Burcot: A Novel. 3 vol. London: Tinsley Brothers, 1867.
- Paul's Courtship: A Novel. 3 vol. London: Charles W. Wood, 1867.
- Jessica's First Prayer. 1 vol. London: R. T. S., 1867.
- Pilgrim Street: A Story of Manchester Life. 1 vol. London: R. T. S., 1867.
- Little Meg's Children. 1 vol. &nb
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Dictionary of National Biography, 1912 supplement/Smith, Sarah
SMITH, SARAH, writing under the pseudonym of ‘Hesba Stretton’ (1832–1911), author, born on 27 July 1832, in New Street, Wellington, Shropshire, was third daughter and fourth child (in a family of eight) of Benjamin Smith, a bookseller and publisher, by his wife Ann Bakewell, a woman of strong evangelical views, who died when Sarah was eight years old. Sarah attended a large girls' day school at the Old Hall, Watling Street, Wellington, conducted by Mrs. Cranage. The school was continued by her son, Dr. Cranage, as a boys' school, and became well known. But Sarah's education was chiefly gained by reading the books in her father's shop. She early began to write little tales without thought of publication. In 1859, however, her sister Elizabeth (1830–1911), her lifelong companion, sent, unknown to Sarah, one of these stories, ‘The Lucky Leg,’ to Charles Dickens, then editor of ‘Household Words.’ He accepted it, sending a cheque for 5l., and published it on 19 March 1859, intimating he would be glad of furthe
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