American writer and abolitionist (born 1811),
author of _Uncle Tom's Cabin_ (1852).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_Beecher_Stowe
From a family with many notable people, including her brother,
Henry Ward Beecher, "American Congregationalist clergyman, social
reformer, and speaker, known for his support of the abolition of
slavery, his emphasis on God's love, and his 1875 adultery trial."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Ward_Beecher
The Reverend Henry Ward Beecher
Called the hen a most elegant creature.
A hen, just for that
Laid an egg in his hat,
And thus did the hen reward Beecher.
But about Harriet:
_UTC_ was written in response to the passage in 1850 of the second
Fugitive Slave Act. It began as a projected story of a few instalments
in an abolitionist magazine, but she kept expanding it, and eventually
the publisher offered her a book contract. It was a huge success.
"Second best-selling book of the 19th century, after the Bible."
Also sold very well in the UK, thanks in part to rampant copyright
infringment. "By 1857, the novel had been translated into 20 languages. Translator Lin Shu published the first Chinese translation in 1901,
which was also the first American novel translated into that language."
She did write other things, though. Crystal quotes a long passage from
_Oldtown Folks_ (1869), a novel about the "old days" in a Massachusetts
town, based largely on her husband's reminiscences. She describes what
might be called "grammar bees" (my term, see yesterday) -- a week long inter-class competition in the high school, with competitive parsing and debates over complex points of English grammar.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Tom%27s_Cabin
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