author

Mary Ann Kilner

1753–1831

A prolific English writer for children in the late eighteenth century, she is best remembered for The Adventures of a Pincushion, a lively moral tale that stayed popular for generations. Writing under the name “S. S.,” she helped shape early children’s literature alongside her sister-in-law Dorothy Kilner.

3 Audiobooks

The Adventures of a Pincushion, Designed Chiefly for the Use of Young Ladies

The Adventures of a Pincushion, Designed Chiefly for the Use of Young Ladies

by Mary Ann Kilner

Jemima Placid; or, The Advantage of Good-Nature

Jemima Placid; or, The Advantage of Good-Nature

by Mary Ann Kilner

William Sedley : $b or, the evil day deferred

William Sedley : $b or, the evil day deferred

by Mary Ann Kilner

About the author

Born Mary Ann Maze in London in 1753, she grew up in a Huguenot family and later married into the Kilner family. She became a notably productive writer of children’s books at a time when the genre was still taking shape, and she published under the pseudonym “S. S.,” a reference to Spital Square, her London home.

Her best-known work is The Adventures of a Pincushion, first published in the early 1780s. Like several of her books, it used everyday objects and lively storytelling to teach lessons about behavior, character, and kindness in a way meant to engage young readers.

Mary Ann Kilner worked in close literary company with her sister-in-law Dorothy Kilner, and together they were associated with more than thirty books. She died in 1831, but her work remains part of the early history of English children’s literature.