A. M. (Abbie M.) Brooks

Born Abigail Lindley in Cooperstown, Pennsylvania, in 1830, she later became known as A. M. Brooks, or Abbie M. Brooks. Archival records show that she kept diaries, and much of what is known about her life comes from those personal writings.

She is especially associated with Florida, and with St. Augustine in particular. She wrote Petals Plucked from Sunny Climes under the pen name Silvia Sunshine, a travel book drawn from her journeys in Florida in the late 1870s, and she is also known for The Unwritten History of Old St. Augustine, a work focused on the city's Spanish past.

Brooks died in 1914, but her writing still appeals to readers interested in old Florida, travel narrative, and local history. Her work is valuable not only for the stories it tells, but also for the window it opens onto the landscapes, communities, and historical memory of her time.