Who Ate the Pink Sweetmeat? And Other Christmas Stories

Mary Hartwell Catherwood

1847–1902

Best known for vivid historical romances and short fiction, this Midwestern writer brought frontier settings and local color to life with energy and feeling. She also published poetry and wrote under her birth name, Mary Hartwell, as well as the pen name "Lewtrah."

Kate Upson Clark

1851–1935

A versatile 19th-century American writer and editor, she moved easily between journalism, fiction, and children’s literature. Her work appeared in major magazines of the day, and she also held editorial roles at influential newspapers and periodicals.

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 stirring Civil War story The Man Without a Country, this Boston minister and writer brought together patriotism, moral purpose, and a gift for lively storytelling. His work ranges from fiction and history to memoir, with an energy that still feels warm and conversational.

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.