I’ll admit, I had never heard of Ms. Southworth before. I was intrigued to learn more about her—she wrote so many stories, yet she seems to have faded into obscurity, which, unfortunately, isn’t unusual for female writers. I found this book about her life both enjoyable and well-written. My only criticism is that I would have appreciated a list of her short stories and novels at the end. Many of her works were published under multiple titles, making it difficult to keep track. Having a compiled list would have been very helpful.

E.D.E.N. Southworth is considered to have been the most popular American novelist of the last half of the 1800s, yet today it's a rare reader who has even heard her name. In detailing the life and writing of this fascinating woman, the author also gives us an in-depth look at women's lives and issues during that time period. Emma Southworth, who published over 60 novels and numerous short stories, was friends with Elizabeth Blackwell and Harriet Beecher Stowe, though her life took a very different trajectory from theirs.

Southworth wasn't a wealthy woman, or one who was provided for by relatives. Against her family's wishes, she married an inventor with no money, and spent her early years moving from one family member to another as he tried to find patrons for his inventions. Eventually he went to Brazil to search for gold, and after several years of no contact she began to refer to herself as a widow. She provided for herself and her two children by teaching and later writing stories and novels, Though she struggled at first, she later became one of the best paid writers in America; her novel The Hidden Hand was serialized in New York and London, and sold almost two million copies.

A believer in abolition and women's rights, Southworth's short stories often reflected these stances, and at least one of the publications she wrote for was threatened by angry mobs for its pro-abolitionist stance. Her novels, on the other hand, featured strong, active young women, but toned down the controversial opinions to some degree. The author argues that this was necessary in order for Southworth to support her family with her writing during a time when there was a great deal of opposition to those views.

It's unlikely that the audience for a biography of a now obscure author will be large, but there is another appeal here, as anyone who is interested in the lives of ordinary women during this time will find this revealing. Southworth's women friends, her husband's desertion, her efforts to support herself without family help, all give the reader a picture of life during this time that is both unusual and fascinating. Though the details may occasionally overwhelm, interested readers will find a realistic picture of life for those without a steady business, farm or family money to support them, and a trenchant look at marriage and family life during the 1800s.

Thank you to Globe Pequot Publishing Group and the author for providing me with a copy of this book for review.

I had never heard of this author, so when I saw this book, I was intrigued. After reading it, I'm still intrigued and have more books on my TBR pile, since I'm now curious and want to read at least some of her work. It was a surprise to read about how such a popular and successful author could be almost completely forgotten. Hopefully this book will change that and result in more people reading her work and commenting on it. Many of her titles are available on Project Gutenberg, if nowhere else.

Southworth herself was a fascinating character and although this book is a biography, it read like a novel. It was fascinating to see the parallels with popular writers and influencers of today, as Emma had to carefully curate her public persona, insisting that she only wrote to support her children, which was necessary because she was a 'widow in fate.' She knew how important it was for her to not appear controversial to the public. She was part of a slave-owning family who wrote for an abolitionist magazine, which cost her some friends and created tensions with her family. She was keenly aware of the ways in which patriarchal society harmed women and she wrote about this in her books, along with her many other progressive ideas. Women loved these books and not only was she wildly successful as a result, the people who published her work benefited financially as well. She really was a trailblazer--that and her success irritated some male writers of the time. The book was also interesting in the way that it showed what the literary culture was like at the time.

Rose Neal handled the subject matter well, so one need not be familiar with Southworth's work to enjoy this book. She could very easily fall into the trap of providing long summaries or explanations of each book, which would have really bogged things down, I think. Instead, she skillfully weaves the books through her own narrative, using them to illustrate how Southworth expressed her views. This also means that, because there were no long descriptions of the books, nothing was spoiled and I can look forward to reading them with the background this biography provides in mind. I'm so glad I read this book. I loved it.