author
Sarah P. (Sarah Parsons) Doughty
1821–1884
A 19th-century American writer for young readers, she created gentle moral tales and holiday stories that stayed in circulation long after her lifetime. Her books have a warm, instructive tone and reflect the family-centered children's literature of the mid-1800s.
1 Audiobook
Playing Santa Claus, and Other Christmas Tales
by Sarah P. (Sarah Parsons) Doughty
About the author
Sarah P. Doughty, also published as Sarah Parsons Doughty, was an American author born in 1821 and died in 1884. Library and public-domain records connect her with children's books and stories, including Stories for Little Children, The Little Child's Friend, and Playing Santa Claus, and Other Christmas Tales.
Some records also list her under the name Sarah Parsons Worcester, suggesting Worcester was her family name before marriage. Genealogical material links her to the Doughty family and shows that she had children, while book records repeatedly present her as a writer of short, instructive tales for young readers.
Her surviving work fits squarely within the moral and domestic children's literature popular in 19th-century America: brief stories about kindness, honesty, perseverance, and everyday family life. While little biographical detail is easy to confirm from widely available sources, her books remain accessible today through digitized library collections and Project Gutenberg.