From Sarah Smith to Hesba Stretton
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FROM SARAH SMITH TO HESBA STRETTON: Hidden in Plain Sight A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Special Case Master of Arts in Women’s Studies University of Regina By Cheryl Elaine Toth Regina, Saskatchewan December 2013 Copyright 2013: C.E. Toth UNIVERSITY OF REGINA FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES AND RESEARCH SUPERVISORY AND EXAMINING COMMITTEE Cheryl Elaine Toth, candidate for the degree of Special Case Master of Arts in Women’s Studies, has presented a thesis titled, From Sarah Smith to Hesba Stretton: Hidden in Plain Sight, in an oral examination held on December 5, 2013. The following committee members have found the thesis acceptable in form and content, and that the candidate demonstrated satisfactory knowledge of the subject material. External Examiner: Dr. Valerie Mulholland, Faculty of Education Supervisor: Dr. Darlene Juschka, Department of Women’s & Gender Studies Committee Member: Dr. Robin Ganev, Department of History Committee Member: *Dr. Dorothy Lane, Department of English Chair of Defense: Dr. Yuan Ren, Department of Religious Studies *Not present at defense Abstract Sarah Smith (1832-1911), under the pseudonym of Hesba Stretton, was a popular author of children’s and adult literature in the Victorian era and a founding member of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. This thesis explores how Sarah created herself as the author Hesba Stretton: choosing a pseudonym and subject areas that both revealed and concealed who she was; using the popularity of her works to negotiate with publishers for a living wage for herself and her sister; and parlaying her authorial fame to argue and organize for reform on social issues important to her. Utilizing the insights of feminist literary scholar Carolyn Heilbrun, Smith/Stetton’s life is reconstructed to consider the unique opportunities, decisions, contributions and consternations of her life. Her logbooks, travel diaries, short stories, novels and articles, as well as the public record of her involvement in social issues of the day, are the primary sources used for this biographical interpretation of her life. Feminist scholarship, historical and literary, is utilized to give context and critical consideration to Hesba Stretton’s life and work. Finally, in keeping with Heilbrun’s precept that biographies are fictions—constructions of the biographer of a story she needs to tell—brief self-reflective pieces are included. In each chapter the reader sees an aspect of Heilbrun’s theory explored, a time of Hesba Stretton’s life examined, and a connection to the biographer’s life elaborated. i Acknowledgements This thesis has been a long time in the making, not only because I am a ‘mature’ student but because it has been written while working full-time. I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Darlene Juschka, for her encouragement, advice and patience without which I would not have completed this project. I would also like to thank Dr. Robin Ganev and Dr. Dorothy Lane, members of the thesis committee, for their knowledge, advice and support. Thanks go as well to Dr. Valerie Mulholland, my external examiner, whose questions and comments were engaging and insightful. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the staff of the Osborne Collection of Early Children’s Books (Toronto) and the Shropshire Archives (Shrewsbury) for their invaluable assistance in my research and for the use of photos of Sarah Smith from the Shropshire Archives collection. ii Dedication To my mother, Elsie Doreen Phillips Still (1933-2008), a strong, loving and wise woman who delighted in life and learning and shared that with her children. To my husband, Jim Toth, who willingly ventured to Shropshire to roam the countryside while I explored the Archives and who constantly reminded me that I could do it. To my colleagues at Luther College for their encouragement in this endeavour and their willingness to listen to all things Hesba. iii Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................. ii Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... iv List of Illustrations ............................................................................................................. vi Introduction .......................................................................................................................1 Preface: why Hesba Stretton ............................................................................................1 Theoretical Framework ....................................................................................................4 Chapter One: Behind the Scenes ....................................................................................13 Backstory: shaping the life of Sarah Smith ....................................................................13 Setting the Stage: shaping the market for Hesba Stretton ..............................................32 Seeking a Script: early writings .....................................................................................36 A Novel Life: imagining a future ...................................................................................45 Snapshot .........................................................................................................................55 Chapter Two: Taking Center Stage ...............................................................................58 On Stage: character and author ......................................................................................58 Center Stage: life in London ..........................................................................................72 Snapshot .........................................................................................................................88 Chapter Three: Revisions................................................................................................91 Writing Oneself into the Story: author as character .......................................................91 A Public Stage: issues of family and nation ...................................................................98 Author as Activist: letters in The Times .......................................................................102 Unexpected Adventure .................................................................................................130 Snapshot .......................................................................................................................133 iv Epilogue and Conclusion: Hidden in Plain Sight ........................................................135 Retiring .........................................................................................................................135 Bibliography ...................................................................................................................143 v List of Illustrations Sarah Smith: budding author .............................................................................................36 Hesba Stretton: author of Jessica’s First Prayer ...............................................................74 Hesba Stretton: founding member of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children 109 vi Introduction Preface: Why Hesba Stretton? On an August day in 2007 the shimmering heat of the prairie summer drove me to seek shelter. The few trees near the beach at Last Mountain Lake Bible Camp offered little protection from the blistering press of the sun’s rays. The aged beach house in which I was staying seemed stifling. Looking for an avenue of relief I made my way to the old quonset hut that housed the Methodist camp’s perennial garage sale. I entered the dim light of the building and took a shallow breath of the motionless air. Looking around I could see the detritus of the many households that had been offered for fundraising purposes. What could I purchase that would not simply add to the clutter of my own home? Always hopeful of an unexpected find, I headed to the books. Most were the usual summer reading fare—tattered mysteries and romances—but on the top shelves were some truly old books. I reached for the smallest one, a pale blue hardback entitled Under the Old Roof. The author named on the cover was Hesba Stretton and the publisher was listed as The Religious Tract Society; I had heard of neither. No publication date was given. Wondering how much I really wanted to read a story written for religious purposes many decades ago, I was about to put it back. Instead I turned one more page and came across the prefatory note. In it someone, presumably the author, had written, “This story was intended to illustrate the great injustice suffered by women prior to the passing of the Married Women’s Property Acts.”1 Immediately my perspective on the author and the book changed. As someone who has a lifelong interest in both women’s issues and 1 Hesba Stretton, Under the Old Roof. (London: The Religious Tract Society, 1882), 10. 1 women in the church, I was intrigued. Who was Hesba Stretton? When was the Married