Other editions of book Jessica's First Prayer

A tale of Victorian life. The story of a neglected street urchin Jessica, and the outcome of her simple faith when hearing about the hope of Christ. How do we react to the poor and needy? What does it mean for a minister to be a servant of God? How can our faith be integrated into our daily lives? These are all questions that are addressed in this book. An encouraging book about how the least of these among us can have the most powerful effect.

A tale of Victorian life. The story of a neglected street urchin Jessica, and the outcome of her simple faith when hearing about the hope of Christ. How do we react to the poor and needy? What does it mean for a minister to be a servant of God? How can our faith be integrated into our daily lives? These are all questions that are addressed in this book. An encouraging book about how the least of these among us can have the most powerful effect.

Jessica's First Prayer is a heartwarming and socially conscious book about an impoverished child's struggle to find God and improve her fortunes. This edition includes the follow-on story; Jessica's Mother. Jessica is a bright and curious young soul living amidst grinding poverty in the industrialized London of the mid-19th century. Denied even the most basic comforts of life, she receives a regular pittance from a charity's coffee stall but has great trouble surviving in the abject squalor of the great metropolis. A chance meeting with two children of a minister leads Jessica to attend a church. The minister proves to be kindly, and asks that Jessica return and hear the words of God - so it is that Jessica begins to attend church regularly. Despite the trials of her existence, she manages to strengthen herself through belief in the divine, and begins to help others such as Daniel, the man who runs the coffee stall. When published in 1867, Jessica's First Prayer caused a sensation among the educated classes of English society for its unflinching depiction of poverty. The London of the time was the most bustling and wealthy city in the world, yet the limited response of society in the face of ballooning population and rapid social upheaval meant that many Londoners lived in abysmal circumstances. The simple but striking reminder of Christianity's core values of aiding the poor and the sick resonated with readers at the time.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Hesba Stretton (1832-1911) was the nom de plume of Sarah Smith, an English author of children's literature. The name Hesba came from the initials of her siblings. She was the daughter of a bookseller from Wellington, Shropshire, but around about 1867 she moved south and lived at Snaresbrook and Loughton near Epping Forest and at Ham, near Richmond, Surrey. Her moral tales and semi-religious stories, chiefly for the young, were printed in huge quantities, and were especially widespread as school and Sunday school prizes, She won wide acceptance in English homes from the publication of "Jessica's First Prayer" in 1867.

Barefoot little Jessica lives in a home where no one knows about God. She looks forward to spending time once a week with Mr. Dan'el, a miserly old coffee peddler who eases his darkened conscience by giving her stale bread and coffee. Jessica's prayers and innocent questions go straight to the coffee peddler's heart. He learns to value the life of a child more than money as he becomes Jessica's new father.

Jessica's first prayer, possibly Hesba Stretton's most popular book, was first serialised in the magazine Sunday at home in 1867. The book went into numerous editions, and the story was reproduced in penny pamphlets, lantern slides, and even a film (in 1906). It led to a whole school of writing about poor homeless orphans or waifs, rescued from poverty and vice by a benevolent (middle-class and evangelical) Samaritan. In this book and in others on the same subject (Little Meg's children, Alone in London), she writes movingly about the plight of the "street arab", a subject on which she felt very strongly.

For several years the crowd of work-people had paused by the coffee-stall under the railway-arch, when one morning, in a partial lull of his business, the owner became suddenly aware of a pair of very bright dark eyes being fastened upon him and the slices of bread and butter on his board, with a gaze as hungry as that of a mouse which has been driven by famine into a trap. A thin and meagre face belonged to the eyes, which was half hidden by a mass of matted hair hanging over the forehead and down the neck—the only covering which the head or neck had; for a tattered frock, scarcely fastened together with broken strings, was slipping down over the shivering shoulders of the little girl. Stooping down to a basket behind his stall, he caught sight of two bare little feet curling up from the damp pavement, as the child lifted up first9 one and then other and laid them one over another to gain a momentary feeling of warmth. Whoever the wretched child was, she did not speak; only at every steaming cupful which he poured out of his can her dark eyes gleamed hungrily, and he could hear her smack her thin lips as if in fancy she was tasting the warm and fragrant coffee.“Oh, come now,” he said at last, when only one boy was left taking his breakfast leisurely, and he leaned over his stall to speak in a low and quiet tone, “why don’t you go away, little girl? Come, come; you’re staying too long, you know.”“I’m just going, sir,” she answered, shrugging her small shoulders to draw her frock up higher about her neck; “only it’s raining cats and dogs outside; and mother’s been away all night,10 and she took the key with her; and it’s so nice to smell the coffee; and the police has left off worriting me while I’ve been here. He thinks I’m a customer taking my breakfast.” And the child laughed a shrill laugh of mockery at herself and the policeman.- Taken from "Jessica's First Prayer" written by Hesba Stretton

Jessica, an inquisitive barefoot girl, took an interest in the coffee stall run by Daniel. Following Daniel into a strange building she began an adventure that will change her life. Jessica knows little about God's love, but has an inquisitive mind showing that a person who seeks eventually finds God. This is one of Hesba Stretton's most popular tales, a touching story first published in 1867. This edition includes 9 illustrations.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Hesba Stretton (1832-1911) was the nom de plume of Sarah Smith, an English author of children's literature. The name Hesba came from the initials of her siblings. She was the daughter of a bookseller from Wellington, Shropshire, but around 1867 she moved south and lived at Snaresbrook and Loughton near Epping Forest and at Ham, near Richmond, Surrey. Her moral tales and semi-religious stories, chiefly for the young, were printed in huge quantities, and were especially widespread as school and Sunday school prizes. She won wide acceptance in English homes from the publication of Jessica's First Prayer in 1867. She was a regular contributor to Household Words and All the Year Round during Charles Dickens' editorship, and wrote upwards of 40 novels. Her other works include Children of Cloverley (1865), Little Meg's Children (1868), In Prison and Out (1880), No Place Like Home (1881), The Soul of Honour (1898) and Hester Morley's Promise (1899).