By Nava Atlas | On May 3, 2016 | Updated September 30, 2022 | Comments (0)
At one of the library sales I frequent in my quest for classics by women authors, I came upon Sara Crewe: or, What Happened at Miss Minchin’s by Frances Hodgson Burnett. This confused me; wasn’t this the story always known as A Little Princess?
It turns out that Sara Crewe is an earlier version of what became the classic. It was serialized in St. Nicholas magazine in 1887, then collected into a novella, published in 1888 by Charles Scribner’s Sons.
In 1905, the expanded story was published for all time as we best know it, titled A Little Princess. And since then, the story has been performed on stage, filmed in several versions, and is consistently named one of the top novels for children of all time.
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By Nava Atlas | On April 20, 2016 | Updated March 22, 2026 | Comments (0)
Presented here is a selection of passages from the diaries and journals of several iconic women authors — Louisa May Alcott, L.M. Montgomery, Enid Bagnold, Virginia Woolf, Anaïs Nin, and Sylvia Plath. Also introduced is Anne Lister, AKA “Gentleman Jack,” who is considered a prolific secret diarist moreso than an author.
For many well-known authors, a personal diary or journal was a constant companion and confidant. Into it they poured their dreams, goals and desires, as well as their fears and insecurities.
What’s striking about these entries is that they reveal a great deal of self-doubt. It goes to show that in many cases, confidence is less important to success than perseverance. Confidence as a writer is something gained over time.
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By Nava Atlas | On March 29, 2016 | Updated September 25, 2026 | Comments (2)
Jessie Willcox Smith (September 6, 1863 – May 3, 1935) was a prolific American illustrator who thrived during what was called the Golden Age of illustration. She was among a handful of respected women illustrators called The Red Rose Girls, who lived and worked together.
Her art embellished more than sixty books and scores of magazine stories and articles from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Among the books she so beautifully illustrated was the 1915 edition of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. Here are a few of them.
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By Taylor Jasmine | On March 3, 2016 | Updated August 1, 2026 | Comments (0)
Throughout the bicentennial year of Charlotte Brontë’s birth in 2016, celebrations and activities abounded in the UK. Faithful pilgrims flocked to Haworth to view the exhibition “Charlotte Great and Small” at the Brontë Parsonage Museum.
In the U.S., Brontë fans eagerly awaited the release of Claire Harmon’s biography Charlotte Brontë: A Fiery Heart. With Brontë on the brain, I found myself revisiting the author’s most popular novel, Jane Eyre, which took the literary world by storm in 1847.
Ever since, it has remained in the public’s collective consciousness through reviews, published letters, graphic novels, countless film and stage adaptations, fan fiction, artwork, music, and a slew of reissues. Read More→
By Nava Atlas | On December 9, 2015 | Updated October 19, 2024 | Comments (0)
Best known for her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Yearling and her memoir, Cross Creek, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings was as comfortable in the kitchen as she was at the typewriter — maybe more so, as cooking was a joy to her, whereas she belonged to the “writing is agony” school of thought.
Rawlings collected the recipes of her time and place in Cross Creek Cookery (1942).
For the most part, the recipes are simple and familiar, with a decidedly Southern accent. Still workable if not always healthful (lots of butter and sugar!), some of the dishes would now be considered a extreme and gross — Alligator-Tail Steak and Minorcan Gopher Stew among them. Read More→
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