Little Ferns for Fanny's Little Friends

Fanny Fern was the pseudonym of Sara Willis Parton (1811-1872). She was a popular American columnist, humourist, novelist, and author of children's stories in the 1850s-1870s. Her immense popularity has been attributed to her conversational style and the immediacy of her topics to her mostly middle-class female audience. In 1852, she became the first female writer with her own regular column; by 1855, she commanded $100 per week for her New York Ledger column and was the highest-paid newspaper writer in the United States. In 1853 she published both Fern Leaves From Fanny's Portfolio, a selection of her more sentimental columns, and Little Ferns For Fanny's Little Friends, a children's book. Fern's first book, Fern Leaves was a best seller, selling 70,000 copies in its first year. Her best-known work, the fictionalized autobiography Ruth Hall (1854), has become a favourite with feminist literary scholars. Her other works include: Rose Clark (1856) and Fresh Leaves (1857).