author
Miriam Coles Harris
1834–1925
A 19th-century American novelist who became famous almost by accident, she first published anonymously and sparked a flurry of guesses about who had written the book. Her work ranged from popular fiction to children's stories and devotional writing, giving her a wide reach across generations of readers.
3 Audiobooks
Richard Vandermarck: A Novel
by Miriam Coles Harris
Rutledge
by Miriam Coles Harris
Missy: A Novel
by Miriam Coles Harris
About the author
Born on July 7, 1834, in Glen Cove on Long Island, Miriam Coles Harris was an American novelist whose career took off with Rutledge in 1860. She had hoped to avoid attention by publishing the novel anonymously, but that only stirred more curiosity and made the book more talked about.
Harris went on to write a number of novels, along with a book of children's stories and two devotional works. She was also known by the byline "The Author of Rutledge," and after her marriage in 1864, sometimes as Mrs. Sidney S. Harris.
She spent her later years in Europe and died on January 23, 1925, in Pau, France. Today, she is remembered as a writer who balanced literary success with a strong preference for privacy.