The Peterkin Papers

The Peterkin Papers is a collection of humorous short stories by American author Lucretia Peabody Hale. The book was first published in 1880, and a sequel, The Last of the Peterkins was printed in 1886.[1]

Story publication history

The first Peterkin story, The Lady Who Put Salt in Her Coffee, was published in the April 1868 issue of the children’s magazine Our Young Folks.[2] Other stories in the series originally appeared in issues of Our Young Folks, until the periodical ceased publication in 1873.[3] Later Peterkin stories were published in St. Nicholas Magazine.[4][5]

Synopsis

The family consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Peterkin and their children Elizabeth Eliza, Soloman John, Agamemnon,[6] plus three unnamed little boys. They lived near Boston, and encountered difficulties due to their "scatterbrained naivete and were rescued from disaster in each case by the commonsensical Lady from Philadelphia."[2] The author based the Lady from Philadelphia on her friend, Susan Lyman Lesley.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b The Peterkin Papers - (Not so) Shocking Secrets of the Hale Family, New England Historical Society
  2. ^ a b Lucretia Peabody Hale, Online Encyclopedia Britannica
  3. ^ R. Gordon Kelly, Children's Periodicals of the United States, pages 331, 332, 341, Greenwood Press, 1984
  4. ^ Lucretia P. Hale, The Peterkins Are Obliged to Move, St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls, May 1878, pages 458-461
  5. ^ Lucretia P. Hale, The Peterkin Celebrate the Fourth of July, The St. Nicholas Anthology, pages 12-16, Greenwich House, 1983
  6. ^ Lucretia P. Hale, About Elizabeth Eliza’s Piano


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