author
Penn Shirley
1840–1929
A Maine writer of children's fiction, she published as Penn Shirley and created cheerful, family-centered stories for young readers in the late 19th century. Writing under a pen name, she is remembered for books like The Merry Five and the Little Miss Weezy series.
3 Audiobooks
About the author
Born Sarah Jones Clarke in Norridgewock, Maine, on September 12, 1840, she wrote children's books under the pen name Penn Shirley. She was the sister of the better-known children's author Rebecca Sophia Clarke, who wrote as Sophie May, and she remained closely tied to her Maine home throughout her life.
Her books appeared between the 1880s and early 1900s and included the Little Miss Weezy series, The Merry Five, The Happy Six, and other stories for younger readers. Reference sources describe her as a writer of juvenile fiction whose work enjoyed modest success rather than major fame.
She died in Norridgewock in 1929. Though less widely known today than some of her contemporaries, her stories still survive through library collections, public-domain editions, and audiobook recordings, giving modern listeners a glimpse of warm, old-fashioned children's fiction from her era.