Books with author Marion Holland

This volume was published in 1856. Very few women and even fewer men still remember Mary Vigrginia Hawes Terhune, alias "Marion Harland". She was, however, a Virginia Presbyterian woman who, as a very young woman, helped shape the lives of American women, indeed, women of the world, long before Martha Stewart of recent notoriety. She did this as a storyteller and especially with her household advice, which she shared with other women around the globe. She was a biblical "Martha" as well as a "Mary". Mary Virginia was born 175 years ago in Amelia County, Va., daughter of Samuel Hawes, a migrant to the South from Massachusetts, and Judith Anna Smith, daughter of well-to-do planters. She received a first rate classical education from tutors, and at a Presbyterian girls seminary in Richmond where The Hawes family attended the Second Presbyterian Church and listened to the preaching of the noted Moses Drury Hog. Precocious from the beginning, she began to write and publish stories for a denominational journal. At the age of twenty- four she published a novel entitled "Alone" under the pseudonym, "Marion Harland", by which she became known and we shall employ here. In "Alone", her heroine starts out as an orphan, grows to matur- ity, marries and becomes a women's woman, according to the storyteller. As a matter of fact, Harland did not like her book being labeled a novel. It was, in fact, a "story", autobiograph- ical and very religious. Her namesake, heroine Ida Ross, grows up and stands up to her own problems and those of others because of her Christian convictions. With the help of Jesus Christ she finds solutions for the trouble of other women --- the most putdown daughters, sisters, wives, mothers - everyday common women some of whom are good-looking, not so good- looking, well off and not-so-well off, some who were lucky and some who even had bad tempers. Harland depicted Christian women as strong domestic goddesses, and religious guardians of husbands and children. Through her characters, Harland showed the women could be a strong force for good in local communities and in the larger republic. Ida's devout preaching by example not only influenced women, but converted recalcitrant men, thus making the entire environ- ment in which they lived one of Christian love and respect. The rays of a woman's halo, she claimed, could reach beyond the home into the wider world. Although "Alone" was mostly sweetness and light with no real villains, the author did include for didactic purposes references to a duel which took place in Richmond during the 1840's between two newspaper editors over the issue of slavery. Harland uses the death scene to condemn this sin against God's gift of life, and also includes in her presentation of this historical drama an eleventh hour con- version experience. Harland’s "Alone" made her reputation. During the rest of her life she was anything but alone. But she lived up to her namesake as a Mary. She continued her writing of stories and novels and emerged as a “New Star of the South.” She saw herself as an all-American author. And she became a true household word, like today’s “Martha”. ............................................................................... Marion Harland's novels are mostly antebellum plantation romances, her stories featured heroines who were exemplary domestic women, never independent but always capable. Forgotten today by all but a handful of women's domestic and literary historians, Marion Harland (1830-1922) was one of the best known American women in the nineteenth century. She was the author of some 75 works of fiction and domestic advice, hundreds of magazine articles and short stories, and a series of syndicated newspaper advice columns. It is not extravagant to say that Marion Harland was, for many readers, the Julia Child, Danielle Steel, and Dear Abby of her day.

This volume was published in 1870. Marion Harland's novels are mostly antebellum plantation romances, her stories featured heroines who were exemplary domestic women, never independent but always capable. Sometimes referred to as "sentimental fiction" or "woman's fiction," "domestic fiction" refers to a type of novel popular with women readers during the middle of the nineteenth century. Forgotten today by all but a handful of women's domestic and literary historians, Marion Harland (1830-1922) was one of the best known American women in the nineteenth century. She was the author of some 75 works of fiction and domestic advice, hundreds of magazine articles and short stories, and a series of syndicated newspaper advice columns. It is not extravagant to say that Marion Harland was, for many readers, the Julia Child, Danielle Steel, and Dear Abby of her day. A lifelong supporter of the cult of domesticity, Marion Harland was never a feminist, and was in fact briefly allied with the anti-suffrage movement. Nevertheless she promoted an ideal of womanhood that was strong, intellectual, and capable of independent living. Marion Harland continued to write and publish until just before her death at ninety-one.

Example in this ebookDEDICATION.To my Brother and Sister.It is meet that those whose sympathy has been dew and sunshine to the nursery plant, should watch over its transplantation into the public garden. And as this Dedication is the only portion of the book which is new to you, you do not require that it should remind you of the welcome stormy evenings, when I laid down my pen, to read to you the chapters written since our last "select party;" how the fictitious names of my real characters were household words to our trio: and your flattering interest—grateful because sincere—stimulated my flagging spirits in the performance of my task. You know, too, what many may not believe—with what misgivings it was entered upon, and prosecuted; what fears of the licensed critic's ban, and the unlicensed public's sneer;—above all, you comprehend the motive that held me to the work—an earnest desire to contribute my mite for the promotion of the happiness and usefulness of my kind. Coming as it does from my heart—penned under the shadow of our home-altar, I cannot but feel that the mission of my offering is to the hearts of others,—ask for it no higher place than the fireside circle. Readers and judges like yourselves, I may not, do not hope to find; but I trust there are those who will pardon the lack of artistic skill in the plot, or the deficiency of stirring incident, in consideration of the fact, that my story is what it purports to be, a simple tale of life—common joy and sorrow, whose merits, if it has any, consist in its truthfulness to Nature, and the fervent spirit which animated its narration.To be continue in this ebook..................................................................................

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

When Grandmamma Was New - The Story of a Virginia Childhood is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by Marion Harland is in the English language, and may not include graphics or images from the original edition. If you enjoy the works of Marion Harland then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection.