Draft:Sarah Jones Clarke

Sarah Jones Clarke
Born(1840-09-12)12 September 1840
Norridgewock, Maine, U.S.
Died3 June 1929(1929-06-03) (aged 88)
Pen namePenn Shirley
OccupationAuthor
GenreChildren's Literature
Years active1886-1902

Sarah Jones Clarke (12 September 1840 - 3 June 1929),[1] who used the pen name Penn Shirley, was an American writer of several children's books.

Biography

Sarah Jones Clarke was born in Norridgewock, Maine, U.S. to father Asa and mother Sophie (Bates) Clarke.[1][2][3] After writing in children's magazines, she published her first children's book in 1886,[4] and a further 9 between then and 1902.

Her first book was Little Miss Weezy, about a young girl called Louise Rowe.[4] One contemporary review of the Little Miss Weezy books described the characters as "lovable and interesting" and the stories as "fresh and breezy, and inciting the best thoughts and ways of living, without being "goody good"."[5] Another wrote that with the publication of Little Miss Weezy "gave its writer a sudden reputation for making child-talk", while Little Miss Weezy's Brother "takes the little folks into its confidence at once and amuses them with a certainty that betrays a wondrous insight into the youthful mind."[6] Another review of Little Miss Weezy's Brother considered it "charming ... really quite comical, and underneath it all lies a good moral tone."[7] Another reviewer described him as "a real live boy [and] ... a worthy example for noble hearted lads to follow."[8]

The Little Miss Weezy series was followed by the Silver Gate series and the Boy Donald series.[9] The Silver Gate series featured the same family as the Miss Weezy series: the three Rowe children, Molly, Kirke, and Weezy, and twins Paul and Pauline Bradstreet.[10] While the first series was set in Massachusetts, the Silver Gate books were set on the Pacific Coast.[10]

Penn Shirley's sister, Rebecca Sophia Clarke, who used the pen name Sophie May, was also a children's author.[3][4][11] Her publishers, Lee and Shepard, used the sisters' relationship and Rebecca's more notable success as a marketing opportunity, mentioning in advertisements for Sarah's series that she is Sophie May's sister.[11][12]

List of works

Little Miss Weezy series

Silver Gate series

Boy Donald series

  • Boy Donald (1900)[20][21][22]
  • Boy Donald and his Chum (1901)
  • Boy Donald and his Hero (1902)

References

  1. ^ a b "Miss Sarah Clark". Sun-Journal. Lewiston, Maine. June 7, 1929. p. 12. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  2. ^ "Clarke, Sarah Jones (1840–1929) | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2025-04-02.
  3. ^ a b Fish, John L. (December 8, 1917). "At Home With Penn Shirley". Sun-Journal. Lewiston, Maine. p. 22. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d "Little Miss Weezy". The Times Record. Brunswick, Maine. December 15, 1886. p. 1. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d ""Little Miss Weezy" and "Little Miss Weezy's Brother"". Argus and Patriot. Montpelier, Vermont. November 27, 1889. p. 8. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  6. ^ a b c "Little Miss Weezy's Brother". The Cleveland Leader. Cleveland, Ohio. November 4, 1888. p. 9. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  7. ^ a b ""Little Miss Weezy's Brother"". The Kansas City Times. Kansas City, Missouri. October 22, 1888. p. 3. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  8. ^ a b c "Little Miss Weezy's Brother". Kansas City Journal. Kansas City, Missouri. October 22, 1888. p. 8. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  9. ^ Commire, Anne; Klezmer, Deborah, eds. (2007). Dictionary of Women Worldwide: 25,000 Women Through the Ages. Yorkin Publications. p. 398.
  10. ^ a b c "Books and Periodicals". Stone; an Illustrated Magazine. 14: 82. 1897. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  11. ^ a b c ""Little Miss Weezy's Sister"". Evening Standard. Leavenworth, Kansas. December 5, 1889. p. 1. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  12. ^ "Rebecca Sophia Clarke and Sarah Jones Clarke". www.readseries.com. Retrieved 2025-04-02.
  13. ^ "New Books". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. St. Louis, Missouri. December 15, 1886. p. 9. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  14. ^ "New Publications. More of Miss Weezy". Harrisburg Telegraph. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. December 23, 1889. p. 2. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  15. ^ Rider, Sidney S. (Nov 9, 1889). "Penn Shirley". Book Notes: Historical, Literary and Critical. 6 (23): 252. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  16. ^ "Among The Books". Outing and the Wheelman. 27: 610. 1896. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  17. ^ "Holiday Books for Young Readers". San Francisco Chronicle. San Francisco, California. December 20, 1896. p. 12. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  18. ^ "Book Reviews. The Happy Six". Lincoln Evening Call. Lincoln, Nebraska. December 26, 1897. p. 4. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  19. ^ "Books of the Day. The Happy Six". Boston Evening Transcript. Boston, Massachusetts. January 5, 1898. p. 10. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  20. ^ Wildman, Marian W. (October 17, 1902). "Boys' and Girls' Favorite Authors". The Buffalo Enquirer. Buffalo, New York. p. 3. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  21. ^ "Hastily Looked At". Buffalo Post. Buffalo, New York. October 25, 1900. p. 9. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  22. ^ "Recent Literature". Toledo Weekly Blade. Toledo, Ohio. October 11, 1900. p. 3. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft:Sarah_Jones_Clarke