Kate Douglas Wiggin, perhaps best remembered for Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, is an author from my home state, with roots not far from the part of Maine familiar to me, so it was with special interest that I endeavored to read her autobiography published originally just after her sudden death in 1923. This is a woman who reveals through her simple life story, a sample of life in the latter half of the nineteenth century and early years of the twentieth.
Her father, step-father, and her first hus
Kate Douglas Wiggin, perhaps best remembered for Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, is an author from my home state, with roots not far from the part of Maine familiar to me, so it was with special interest that I endeavored to read her autobiography published originally just after her sudden death in 1923. This is a woman who reveals through her simple life story, a sample of life in the latter half of the nineteenth century and early years of the twentieth.
Her father, step-father, and her first husband, all died young, leaving Kate to find a way to survive economically. She was in the forefront of the educational reform movement for Kindergarten; besides giving speeches and becoming a national spokesperson, she established a free school in San Francisco and became a teacher trainer.
However, the more fascinating sections of the book were her encounters with other familiar historical figures. One chapter gives her impressions of the Concord transcendentalist group including Emerson and Elizabeth Peobody, her host. In another section she recounts her childhood memories of villager's reactions to the assassination of Abe Lincoln. My favorite section was her detailed description of her childhood train encounter with none other than her hero Charles Dickens.
Her younger sister Nora Archibald Smith, whose life was closely entwined with Kate's, wrote her own recollections of her famous sister's life in another book: Kate Douglas Wiggin as Her Sister Knew Her (1925); that is a biography that would, no doubt, flesh out Kate in new ways and seems a natural follow-up to MY GARDEN OF MEMORY.
Kate Douglas Wiggin, nee Smith (1856-1923) was an American children's author and educator. She was born in Philadelphia, and was of Welsh descent. She started the first free kindergarten in San Francisco in 1878 (the "Silver Street Free Kindergarten"). With her sister in the 1880s she also established a training school for kindergarten teachers. Her best known books are Th
Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin
Kate Douglas Wiggin, nee Smith (1856-1923) was an American children's author and educator. She was born in Philadelphia, and was of Welsh descent. She started the first free kindergarten in San Francisco in 1878 (the "Silver Street Free Kindergarten"). With her sister in the 1880s she also established a training school for kindergarten teachers. Her best known books are The Story of Pasty (1883), The Birds' Christmas Carol (1887), Polly Oliver's Problem (1893), A Cathedral Courtship (1893), The Village Watchtoer (1896), Marm Lisa (1897) and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1903).
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