Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Letters, 1868: A Study
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Digital Humanities
English Language and Literature
History
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This project examines two letters written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, one dated 1868; the other undated. The 1868 letter is personal correspondence sent from Charleston, South Carolina and reveals a surprising connection between Stowe and the Tyler family of Philadelphia (for whom Temple University’s Tyler School of Art is named). The undated letter is addressed to Stowe’s editor and publisher, James T. Fields. In it she includes detailed input on the cover art for the forthcoming Little Pussy Willow (1870), and updates on various shorter writing projects under contract. While the contents of both letters contain rather quotidian details and information, they nevertheless offer a glimpse of Stowe and the business of writing professionally in the nineteenth century—including the packaging, marketing, and promotion of her books, as well as brief insights on her financial compensation for contributions to various periodicals.