author
Mary (Mary Botham) Howitt
1799–1888
Best known for the much-loved poem "The Spider and the Fly," this English writer built a remarkably varied career as a poet, editor, translator, and author for both children and adults. Her work helped bring European stories to English readers and made her a familiar literary voice of the 19th century.
4 Audiobooks
A popular history of the United States of America, Vol. 2 (of 2) : from the discovery of the American continent to the present time
by Mary (Mary Botham) Howitt
A popular history of the United States of America, Vol. 1 (of 2) : from the discovery of the American continent to the present time
by Mary (Mary Botham) Howitt
Birds and their nests
by Mary (Mary Botham) Howitt
The poems of Mary Howitt
by Mary (Mary Botham) Howitt
About the author
Born Mary Botham in Gloucestershire in 1799 and raised in a Quaker family, she grew into one of the most active literary figures of her time. She married the writer William Howitt in 1821, and the two often worked side by side, producing books that reached a wide readership.
She is still especially remembered for "The Spider and the Fly," a poem whose opening lines have stayed famous for generations. But her writing life was much broader than that: she published poetry, stories, and nonfiction, edited books, and translated works from Swedish and Danish, including stories by Hans Christian Andersen.
Howitt also took a strong interest in social questions and is described in reliable reference sources as connected with early women's rights advocacy in Britain. She died in Rome in 1888, leaving behind a body of work that mixed moral clarity, lively storytelling, and a real gift for writing that ordinary readers could enjoy.