Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward, born Mary Gray Phelps, (August 31, 1844-January 28, 1911) was an American
author
and an early advocate of clothing reform for women, urging them to burn their corsets.
, Massachusetts
to Austin Phelps
and Elizabeth Stuart Phelps. After her mother died of brain fever
on November 20, 1852, 8 year old Mary Gray asked to be renamed in honor of her mother.
In most of her writings she used her mother's name "Elizabeth Stuart Phelps" as a pseudonym, both before and after her marriage in 1888 to Herbert Dickinson Ward
, a journalist seventeen years younger. She also used the pseudonym Mary Adams. Her father Austin Phelps was pastor of the Pine Street Congregational Church until 1848, when he accepted a position as the Chair of Rhetoric at Andover Theological Seminary and moved the family to Boston.
Ward wrote three Spiritualist novels, The Gates Ajar, Between the Gates and Beyond the Gates, and a novella about animal rights, Loveliness. While writing other popular stories, she was also a great advocate, by lecturing and otherwise, for social reform, temperance
, and the emancipation
of women. She was also involved in clothing reform for women, urging them to burn their corsets in 1874.
Ward's mother, Elizabeth (Wooster) Stuart Phelps, (August 13, 1815—November 30, 1852) wrote the Kitty Brown books under the pen name H. Trusta.
Elizabeth Stuart Phelps and her husband co-authored two Biblical romances in 1890 and 1891. Her autobiography, Chapters from a Life was published in 1896 after being serialized in McClure's. She also wrote a large number of essays for Harper's
Phelps continued to write short stories and novels into the twentieth century. One work, Trixy (1904), dealt with another cause she supported, anti-vivisection (a topic on which she also addressed the Massachusetts State Legislature). Her last work, Comrades (1911), was published posthumously. Phelps died January 28, 1911, in Newton Center, Massachusetts.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and an early advocate of clothing reform for women, urging them to burn their corsets.
Biography
Elizabeth was born at AndoverAndover, Massachusetts
Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was incorporated in 1646 and as of the 2010 census, the population was 33,201...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
to Austin Phelps
Austin Phelps
Austin Phelps , was an American Congregational minister and educator. He was for 10 years President of the Andover Theological Seminary and his writings became standard textbooks for Christian theological education and remain in print today.- Biography :Austin Phelps was born in was born at West...
and Elizabeth Stuart Phelps. After her mother died of brain fever
Brain fever
Brain fever describes a medical condition where a part of the brain becomes inflamed and causes symptoms that present as fever. The terminology is dated, and is encountered most often in Victorian literature...
on November 20, 1852, 8 year old Mary Gray asked to be renamed in honor of her mother.
In most of her writings she used her mother's name "Elizabeth Stuart Phelps" as a pseudonym, both before and after her marriage in 1888 to Herbert Dickinson Ward
Herbert Dickinson Ward
Herbert Dickinson Ward was an American author, born at Waltham, Massachusetts, son of William Hayes Ward. He graduated from Amherst College in 1884, and wrote extensively for newspapers and periodicals...
, a journalist seventeen years younger. She also used the pseudonym Mary Adams. Her father Austin Phelps was pastor of the Pine Street Congregational Church until 1848, when he accepted a position as the Chair of Rhetoric at Andover Theological Seminary and moved the family to Boston.
Ward wrote three Spiritualist novels, The Gates Ajar, Between the Gates and Beyond the Gates, and a novella about animal rights, Loveliness. While writing other popular stories, she was also a great advocate, by lecturing and otherwise, for social reform, temperance
Temperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
, and the emancipation
Women's suffrage
Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
of women. She was also involved in clothing reform for women, urging them to burn their corsets in 1874.
Ward's mother, Elizabeth (Wooster) Stuart Phelps, (August 13, 1815—November 30, 1852) wrote the Kitty Brown books under the pen name H. Trusta.
Elizabeth Stuart Phelps and her husband co-authored two Biblical romances in 1890 and 1891. Her autobiography, Chapters from a Life was published in 1896 after being serialized in McClure's. She also wrote a large number of essays for Harper's
Phelps continued to write short stories and novels into the twentieth century. One work, Trixy (1904), dealt with another cause she supported, anti-vivisection (a topic on which she also addressed the Massachusetts State Legislature). Her last work, Comrades (1911), was published posthumously. Phelps died January 28, 1911, in Newton Center, Massachusetts.
Works
- Ellen's Idol (1864)
- Gypsy BreyntonGypsy BreyntonGypsy Breynton is the heroine of an eponymous series of books written by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps. The books were written in 1866-7 for Sunday schools and so are of an improving nature. Gypsy, as the name indicates, is an impetuous tomboy who lives a chaotic life lacking a system...
and three sequels (1866-7) - Mercy Gliddon's Work (1866)
- The Gates Ajar (1868)
- Men, Women, and Ghosts (1869)
- Hedged In (1870)
- The Silent Partner (1871)
- What to Wear (1873)
- Poetic Studies (1875)
- The Story of Avis (1877)
- An Old Maid's Paradise (1879)
- Doctor Zay (1882)
- Beyond the Gates (1883)
- Songs of the Silent World (1884)
- Jack the Fisherman (1887)
- The Gates Between (1887)
- The struggle for Immortality (1889)
- with her husbandHerbert Dickinson WardHerbert Dickinson Ward was an American author, born at Waltham, Massachusetts, son of William Hayes Ward. He graduated from Amherst College in 1884, and wrote extensively for newspapers and periodicals...
, Come Forth (1891) - Donald Marcy (1893)
- A Singular Life (1895)
- The Story of Jesus Christ (1897)
- The Supply at Saint Agetha's (1897)
- Within the Gates (1901)
- Trixy (1904)
- Walled In (1907)
- The Whole FamilyThe Whole FamilyThe Whole Family: a Novel by Twelve Authors is a collaborative novel told in twelve chapters, each by a different author. This unusual project was conceived by novelist William Dean Howells and carried out under the direction of Harper's Bazaar editor Elizabeth Jordan, who would write one of the...
(collaborative novel with eleven other authors, 1908) - The Empty House and Other Stories (1910)