Who Ate the Pink Sweetmeat? And Other Christmas Stories

Mary Hartwell Catherwood

1847–1902

Best known for vivid historical romances and short stories, this American writer brought the Midwest and early French colonial America to life with energy and feeling. She also wrote poetry and published under both her own name and the playful pen name "Lewtrah."

Kate Upson Clark

1851–1935

A lively American writer and editor, she moved easily between magazines, newspapers, and books, bringing a warm, observant voice to both journalism and fiction. Her career stretched from the late 19th century into the early 20th, with work appearing in major periodicals of her day.

Lady Dunboyne

1842–1919

A Victorian novelist and short-story writer with a gift for domestic drama, family feeling, and gentle moral tension. Writing as Lady Dunboyne and Marion Clifford-Butler, she published fiction that found readers in late 19th-century Britain.

Edward Everett Hale

1822–1909

Best known for the patriotic Civil War tale The Man Without a Country, this Boston writer also spent decades as a Unitarian minister, editor, and public-minded reformer. His work mixed storytelling, history, and practical idealism in a way that made him a notable voice in 19th-century American life.

A little-known 19th-century writer whose work appeared in popular story collections of the 1880s, with tales aimed at young readers and holiday audiences. Though biographical details are scarce, the surviving record suggests a contributor to the warm, moral storytelling style common in that era.