author

Mary Jane Holmes

1825–1907

A hugely popular 19th-century novelist, she wrote emotional, fast-moving stories about family life, love, loss, and moral choices that connected with a wide American audience. In her lifetime, her books sold in remarkable numbers, making her one of the best-known women writers of her era.

46 Audiobooks

Marian Grey : $b or, The heiress of Redstone Hall

by Mary Jane Holmes

Edith Lyle : $b A novel

by Mary Jane Holmes

Tempest and Sunshine

by Mary Jane Holmes

Aikenside

by Mary Jane Holmes

The Cromptons

by Mary Jane Holmes

Edna Browning; $b or, the Leighton homestead. A novel

by Mary Jane Holmes

Mildred : $b A novel

by Mary Jane Holmes

Darkness and Daylight: A Novel

by Mary Jane Holmes

Dora Deane; Or, The East India Uncle

by Mary Jane Holmes

Miss McDonald

by Mary Jane Holmes

Homestead on the Hillside

by Mary Jane Holmes

Ethelyn's Mistake

by Mary Jane Holmes

Hugh Worthington : $b A novel

by Mary Jane Holmes

The Cameron pride; or, purified by suffering : $b A novel

by Mary Jane Holmes

Cousin Maude

by Mary Jane Holmes

The English Orphans; Or, A Home in the New World

by Mary Jane Holmes

Glen's Creek

by Mary Jane Holmes

Doctor Hathern's daughters : $b A story of Virginia, in four parts

by Mary Jane Holmes

Queenie Hetherton

by Mary Jane Holmes

Millbank; $b or, Roger Irving's ward. A novel

by Mary Jane Holmes

'Lena Rivers

by Mary Jane Holmes

The Rector of St. Mark's

by Mary Jane Holmes

Family Pride; Or, Purified by Suffering

by Mary Jane Holmes

Mrs. Hallam's companion; and The Spring Farm, and other tales

by Mary Jane Holmes

Forrest House : $b A novel

by Mary Jane Holmes

Rose Mather: A tale

by Mary Jane Holmes

The abandoned farm, and Connie's mistake

by Mary Jane Holmes

West Lawn, and The rector of St. Mark's

by Mary Jane Holmes

Chateau d'Or, Norah, and Kitty Craig

by Mary Jane Holmes

Rosamond, or, the Youthful Error: A Tale of Riverside; And Other Stories

by Mary Jane Holmes

Tracy Park: A Novel

by Mary Jane Holmes

Gretchen: A Novel

by Mary Jane Holmes

The Tracy diamonds

by Mary Jane Holmes

Jessie Graham

by Mary Jane Holmes

Maggie Lee! : $b Bad spelling, Diamonds, The answered prayer

by Mary Jane Holmes

Bessie's Fortune: A Novel

by Mary Jane Holmes

Christmas stories

by Mary Jane Holmes

Daisy Thornton

by Mary Jane Holmes

Meadow Brook

by Mary Jane Holmes

Maggie Miller: The Story of Old Hagar's Secret

by Mary Jane Holmes

Bad Hugh

by Mary Jane Holmes

Madeline

by Mary Jane Holmes

Rena's experiment

by Mary Jane Holmes

Lucy Harding : $b a romance of Russia

by Mary Jane Holmes

The Merivale banks

by Mary Jane Holmes

Paul Ralston : $b A novel

by Mary Jane Holmes

About the author

Born Mary Jane Hawes in Brookfield, Massachusetts, on April 5, 1825, she began writing young and later married Daniel Holmes. The couple lived for a time in Kentucky, a setting that influenced some of her fiction, before settling in Brockport, New York.

She became one of the most successful American popular novelists of the 19th century, publishing 39 novels along with many short stories. Her first novel, Tempest and Sunshine (1854), was a major hit, and her work was known for its lively plots, domestic drama, and strong appeal to everyday readers.

Mary Jane Holmes died on October 6, 1907. Although literary fashions changed after her lifetime, she remains an important example of how widely read and commercially successful women writers could be in the 1800s.