author
Mrs. Nathaniel Conklin
1841–1900
Known in print as Mrs. Nathaniel Conklin, she wrote warm, thoughtful stories for children and girls, then turned her energy toward helping people who were isolated by illness. Her life joined popular 19th-century fiction with practical social work.
3 Audiobooks
Tessa Wadsworth's Discipline: A Story of the Development of a Young Girl's Life
by Mrs. Nathaniel Conklin
Growing Up: A Story of the Girlhood of Judith Mackenzie
by Mrs. Nathaniel Conklin
Miss Prudence: A Story of Two Girls' Lives.
by Mrs. Nathaniel Conklin
About the author
Born Jennie Maria Drinkwater in 1841, she became known early for writing stories for children and later published fiction for girls and for religious readers under the name Mrs. Nathaniel Conklin. Her books often center on young women, family life, character, and everyday moral choices, which helped make her a familiar name to late-19th-century readers.
She was also active beyond the page. Conklin is remembered as the originator of the Shut-in Society, an organization created to support people confined by illness or disability and to connect them with purposeful work and companionship.
She died in 1900, but her novels and stories continued to circulate through libraries, reprints, and digital collections. Today she is remembered both as a prolific American author and as a writer who paired storytelling with a strong sense of social care.