author
Mary Martha Sherwood
1775–1851
A hugely popular 19th-century writer, she shaped generations of children's reading with stories that mixed family life, moral struggle, and vivid religious feeling. Best known today for The Fairchild Family and Little Henry and his Bearer, she wrote with unusual energy and influence.
6 Audiobooks
The Fairchild Family
by Mary Martha Sherwood
Shanty the Blacksmith; a Tale of Other Times
by Mary Martha Sherwood
Brotherly Love Shewing That as Merely Human It May Not Always Be Depended Upon
by Mary Martha Sherwood, Sophia Kelly
The Wishing Cap
by Mary Martha Sherwood
Soffrona and Her Cat Muff
by Mary Martha Sherwood
The Young Lord, and Other Tales; to which is added Victorine Durocher
by Mrs. Newton Crosland, Mary Martha Sherwood
About the author
Born in Worcestershire in 1775, Mary Martha Sherwood became one of the most prolific English writers of her time, producing more than 400 works. She is chiefly remembered for children's books, especially The History of the Fairchild Family, The History of Little Henry and his Bearer, and the Henry Milner series.
After marrying Captain Henry Sherwood in 1803, she spent time in India, where she combined writing with religious and charitable work. Her experiences there fed into some of her best-known fiction, and her early books were strongly shaped by evangelical Christianity.
Sherwood's stories were widely read in the 19th century because they joined memorable domestic scenes with serious lessons about conduct, faith, and family life. Although modern readers often notice how firmly moral her books are, her work remains important in the history of children's literature because of its enormous popularity and lasting influence.