Hattie Tyng Griswold

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Hattie Tyng Griswold

1840–1909

A Wisconsin poet, essayist, and novelist, she wrote with warmth about everyday life, famous writers, and the moral questions of her time. Her work ranged from verse to juvenile fiction and literary sketches, giving modern readers a lively glimpse of late 19th-century American letters.

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About the author

Born in Boston on January 26, 1842, Hattie Tyng Griswold spent part of her childhood in Maine and Michigan before settling in Wisconsin, which became her long-term home. Contemporary biographical sources describe her as an early contributor to major magazines while still quite young, and note that she married Eugene Sherwood Griswold in 1863.

Griswold built a varied writing career. Her first volume of poems, Apple Blossoms, appeared in 1874, and she went on to publish books including Home Life of Great Authors, Waiting on Destiny, Lucile and Her Friends, and Personal Sketches of Recent Authors. She was especially remembered for the poem "Under the Daisies," which was singled out in period reference works as one of her best-known pieces.

Beyond literature, she was also active in reform and philanthropic work. A 19th-century biographical profile says she took part in charity, temperance, and other efforts aimed at easing suffering and encouraging social improvement, showing the same practical, public-minded spirit that runs through much of her writing.