Mary Finley Leonard

Born in Philadelphia on January 11, 1862, Mary Finley Leonard was brought to Louisville, Kentucky, when she was only a few months old. She became known as a writer of stories for girls and children, establishing a lasting place in Kentucky’s literary history.

Her first published story was The Story of the Big Front Door in 1898, followed by works including Half-a-Dozen Thinking Caps, The Candle and the Cat, The Spectacle Man, Mr. Pat’s Little Girl, The Pleasant Street Partnership, and The Little Red Chimney. Leonard died in 1948, and many of her books remain available today as public-domain works.