Sarah Josepha Buell Hale

author

Sarah Josepha Buell Hale

1788–1879

A pioneering editor and writer, she helped shape 19th-century American culture through fiction, poetry, and decades of magazine work. She is also widely remembered for the nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and for her long campaign to make Thanksgiving a national holiday.

2 Audiobooks

Mrs. Hale's Receipts for the Million Containing Four Thousand Five Hundred and Forty-five Receipts, Facts, Directions, etc. in the Useful, Ornamental, and Domestic Arts

Mrs. Hale's Receipts for the Million Containing Four Thousand Five Hundred and Forty-five Receipts, Facts, Directions, etc. in the Useful, Ornamental, and Domestic Arts

by Sarah Josepha Buell Hale

The workwoman's guide : containing instructions to the inexperienced in cutting out and completing those articles of wearing apparel, &c. which are ususally made at home : also, explanations on upholstery, straw-platting, bonnet-making, knitting, &c.

The workwoman's guide : containing instructions to the inexperienced in cutting out and completing those articles of wearing apparel, &c. which are ususally made at home : also, explanations on upholstery, straw-platting, bonnet-making, knitting, &c.

by Sarah Josepha Buell Hale

About the author

Born in Newport, New Hampshire, in 1788, she grew up with a strong education at home and later turned to writing after being widowed and left to support her five children. That personal hardship launched a literary career that would make her one of the most influential women in American publishing.

She first gained notice with the novel Northwood and then became editor of Ladies' Magazine in Boston. Later, as editor of Godey's Lady's Book for many years, she reached a huge readership and helped shape conversations about literature, education, domestic life, and women's roles in the United States.

Alongside her editorial work, she wrote poetry and prose for adults and children. She is often credited as the author of "Mary Had a Little Lamb," and she also used her public voice to support causes she believed in, including the effort that helped lead to a national Thanksgiving observance. She died in Philadelphia in 1879, after a career that left a lasting mark on American letters.