Elsie's Womanhood (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9798889421580)

Yet another great book, but it's also super sad. Although I do have issues with her inaccurate description of the Civil War. It's interesting to me that even though Finley write closer to that time than historians today, she still seemed to portray it in the modern light. I wish more people studied what it was actually about.

This book really made me think about having my own kids and raising up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.( Haley Annabelle)

About the author:

Martha Finley (pen name: Martha Farquharson; April 26, 1828 - January 30, 1909) was an American teacher and author of numerous works for children, the best known being the 28-volume Elsie Dinsmore series which was published over a span of 38 years. Her books tend to be sentimental, with a strong emphasis on religious belief. The daughter of Presbyterian minister Dr. James Brown Finley and his wife and cousin Maria Theresa Brown Finley, she was born on April 26, 1828, in Chillicothe, Ohio. She died in 1909 in Elkton, Maryland.

In the winter of 1853, Finley began her literary career by writing a newspaper story and a little book published by the Baptist Board of Publication. Many of her early works were short stories contributed to the children's sections of Sunday-school papers. Originally written anonymously, the stories' success led her publishers to ask her to include her name. At the time her family objected to her the publishing under her own name, so she chose "Martha Farquharson" as her pen name.

Between 1856 and 1870, she wrote more than twenty Sunday school books and several series of juveniles, one series containing twelve books. These were followed by Casella (Philadelphia, 1869), Peddler of LaGrave, Old Fashioned Boy (Philadelphia, 1871), and Our Fred (New York City, 1874). It is through her "Elsie" and "Mildred" series that she became popular as a writer for the young. Finley did not write exclusively for the young. She wrote three novels, Wanted-A Pedigree (Philadelphia, 1879), Signing the Contract (New York, 1879), and Thorn in the Nest (New York. 1886).

Finley resided in Elkton, Cecil County, Maryland, in a cottage which she built. On March 3, 1892, she became a member of the Singerly Fire Company, the town's fire department, when she was issued stock certificate 33, which granted her full privileges of membership.

There is no evidence to indicate other types of participation in the organization, as most likely Singerly generously benefited from financial contributions from the civic-minded, progressive writer. But she was the only women listed on the rolls of the Elkton fire department until the mid-1970s. (wikipedia.org)