{"product_id":"the-lamplighter-maria-s-cummins-9781479414833","title":"The Lamplighter: or an Orphan Girl's Struggles and Triumphs","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis sentimental novel follows the life of a young orphan who, taken in by a kindly lamplighter, grows into a woman of strong moral character despite relentless adversity. Through trials of poverty, betrayal, and loss, she maintains an unwavering commitment to virtue, finding spiritual strength and human kindness in even the darkest corners of life. Blending melodrama, religious overtones, and moral instruction, the story reflects Victorian ideals while offering a heartfelt portrait of personal resilience. A defining work of 19th-century American domestic fiction, it moved generations of readers with its emotional sincerity and hopeful message.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMaria Susanna Cummins (1827-1866) was an American novelist, best known for her best-selling 1854 novel, \u003cem\u003eThe Lamplighter\u003c\/em\u003e. \u003cem\u003eThe Lamplighter\u003c\/em\u003e was Cummins first novel and it was only out-sold at the time by Harriet Beecher Stowe's \u003cem\u003eUncle Tom's Cabin\u003c\/em\u003e. James D. Hart (author of \u003cem\u003eThe Oxford Companion to American Literature\u003c\/em\u003e) noted that \u003cem\u003eThe Lamplighter \u003c\/em\u003ecould provide insight into the American culture of its time: \"If a student of taste wants to know the thoughts and feelings of the majority who lived during Franklin Pierce's administration, he will find more positive value in Maria Cummins' \u003cem\u003eThe Lamplighter \u003c\/em\u003eor T. S. Arthur's \u003cem\u003eTen Nights in a Bar-Room\u003c\/em\u003e than he will in Thoreau's \u003cem\u003eWalden \u003c\/em\u003e- all books published in 1854.\" Cummin's heroine Gerty Flint inspired James Joyce's character Gerty McDowell in a portion of \u003cem\u003eUlysses \u003c\/em\u003egenerally believed to be a parody of Cummins' writing style.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Maria S. Cummins\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1479414832\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781479414833\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Wildside Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 12\/05\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 380\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.06lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.85d","brand":"Maria S. Cummins","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48174857027839,"sku":"9781479414833","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_879a4a2d-97a9-46c4-aad1-d77ef9a7adc9.jpg?v=1771330974","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-lamplighter-maria-s-cummins-9781479414833","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}