The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
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The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
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Catharine Maria Sedgwick (28 December 1789-31 July 1867), novelist, was born and lived most of her life at the family estate in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. She was educated both in schools and at home, though her early life was devoted to social pleasures and religious training, the latter greatly influenced by the Reverend William Ellery Channing. Her first novel, A New-England Tale (New York: Bliss & White, 1822), was typical of her other five: it accurately described and recreated a native American setting while promoting the virtues of domesticity. Hope Leslie (New York: White, Gallaher & White, 1827), an historical romance set in colonial Massachusetts, is her most famous work. She died in West Roxbury, Massachusetts. Sedgwick, though the most popular female novelist before Harriet Beecher Stowe, is of value today primarily because of her pioneering attempt to create a realistic background for her fiction, acting as a midpoint between the romanticism of the past and the realism of the future.