Sarah Orne Jewett
1849 – 1909
American novelist, short story writer and poet known for American literary regionalism style of writing
Background Information & Connection to Maine from Feminist Writers (3)
Literary Ladies Guide: The Life of Sarah Orne Jewett (4)
Sarah Orne Jewett (5)
Vintage Postcard – Home of Sarah Orne Jewett in South Berwick, Maine (6)
Virtual Visit – Walking Tour – Sarah Orne Jewett in South Berwick, Maine (7)
Virtual Visit – Sarah Orne Jewett House Museum (8)
Primary Source – Entries from Sarah Orne Jewett’s Diary written in 1869 at the age of 20 (9)
Visual Text: Sarah Orne Jewett later in life holding a doll (10)
Sarah Orne Jewett wrote several poems about dolls, including The Old Doll (11)
Writings of Sarah Orne Jewett
Reading: The short story – A White Heron (12)
“Sylvia, a shy child of the woods, keeps the secret of the rare white heron in this classic tale.” Published in 1886 (13)
Reading: Last Days in Deephaven – The final chapter in Jewett’s first novel Deephaven, set in the fictional fishing village of Deephaven, Maine (14)
“It is wonderful, the romance and tragedy and adventure which one may find in a quiet old-fashioned country town…” ~Sarah Orne Jewett in Deephaven
Click here to read reviews of Sarah Orne Jewett’s Deephaven when it was published in 1877 (15)
“Two aristocratic young ladies from Boston share their experiences and their delight, as well as the salty yarns of several sea captains, in a small harbor village in Maine.” Published in 1877 (16)
Click here to read a sampling of poems by Sarah Orne Jewett (18)
Reading: The first page excerpt (I. The Return) from Jewett’s most famous novel – The Country of the Pointed Firs, comprised of stories of coastal Maine (19)
“A female writer comes one summer to Dunnet Landing, a Maine seacoast town, where she follows the lonely inhabitants of once-prosperous coastal communities. Here, lives are molded by the long Maine winters, rock-filled fields and strong resourceful women.” Published in 1896 (20)
Reading: The essay Looking Back on Girlhood by Sarah Orne Jewett (21)
Sarah Orne Jewett at age 8 (22)
Reading: The essay My School Days by Sarah Orne Jewett – Memories of Berwick Academy (23)
Obituaries for Sarah Orne Jewett (25)
Obituary from the Boston Globe 1909 (26)
(zoom in to read)
Find-a-Grave Cemetery Record (27)
If you’d like more to explore…
Jewett Family Papers (28)
A bust of Sarah Orne Jewett at the Boston Athenaeum (30)
Photos from the Sarah Orne Jewett Text Project (31)
Photo credits & Sources from top to bottom of page:
1. Portrait of Sarah Orne Jewett: https://www.shortstoryproject.com/writers/77353/
2. https://quotefancy.com/quote/1257715/Sarah-Orne-Jewett-You-must-find-your-own-quiet-center-of-life-and-write-from-that-to-the
3. “Sarah Orne Jewett.” Feminist Writers, edited by Pamela Kester-Shelton, St. James Press, 1996. Gale Literature Resource Center, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K2410000142/LitRC?u=brun84057&sid=bookmark-LitRC&xid=04b49e55. Accessed 21 Mar. 2022.
4. https://www.literaryladiesguide.com/author-biography/jewett-sarah-orne/
5. https://www.literaryladiesguide.com/author-biography/jewett-sarah-orne/
6. https://www.amazon.com/Jewett-Berwick-Original-Vintage-Postcard/dp/B07KPD3955
7. http://www.oldberwick.org/oldberwick/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=61&Itemid=107
8. https://www.historicnewengland.org/property/sarah-orne-jewett-house-museum-and-visitor-center/
9. http://www.sarahornejewett.org/soj/let/soj-diary-1869.html
10. http://www.public.coe.edu/~theller/soj/bio/soj-images.html
11. http://www.public.coe.edu/~theller/soj/poe/olddoll.htm
12. http://www.public.coe.edu/~theller/soj/awh/heron.htm
13. https://www.discoverbooks.com/A-White-Heron-Candlewick-Treasures-Sarah-Orne-J-p/0763602051.htm
14. http://www.sarahornejewett.org/soj/dph/deep-13.html
15. http://www.public.coe.edu/~theller/soj/dph/dph-reviews.html
16. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5987245-deephaven
17. Photo of Sarah Orne Jewett: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Orne_Jewett
18. https://mypoeticside.com/poets/sarah-orne-jewett-poems
19. https://www.bartleby.com/125/index.html
20. https://www.bartleby.com/125/index.html
21. https://americanliterature.com/author/sarah-orne-jewett/short-story/looking-back-on-girlhood
22. http://www.sarahornejewett.org/soj/bio/soj-images.html
23. http://www.public.coe.edu/~theller/soj/una/myschool.html
24. Gravestone: http://oldberwick.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=241:portland-street-cemetery&catid=50:cemeteries&Itemid=96
25. http://www.public.coe.edu/~theller/soj/bio/soj-death.html
26. http://www.brunswick.k12.me.us/bhslibrary/files/2020/04/Jewett-Obituary-.pdf
27. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/26163881/sarah-orne-jewett
28. https://www.historicnewengland.org/explore/collections-access/gusn/?refd=MS014
29. Photo of Sarah Orne Jewett: https://www.historicnewengland.org/family-manuscript-collections/jewett/
30. https://www.bostonathenaeum.org/paintings-sculpture-online/sarah-orne-jewett
31. http://www.public.coe.edu/~theller/soj/bio/soj-images.html
