Annie Fields

Born in Boston in 1834, Annie Adams Fields became an important figure in American literary life. She wrote poetry, essays, memoirs, and biographical works, and she is especially known for recording the people and conversations that shaped 19th-century letters.

After marrying publisher James T. Fields, she was at the center of a remarkable circle of writers and artists. Their home became a well-known gathering place, and after his death she remained a respected literary hostess and author in her own right.

Fields was also deeply involved in philanthropic and social work, which many accounts describe as one of the great commitments of her life. In her later years, she shared a close companionship with author Sarah Orne Jewett, and today she is remembered not only for her own writing but also for the window she offers into a rich literary era.