Educated at home and at a local women's seminary, Child spent some time as a teacher before writing her first novel, Hobomok, in 1824. This work has the distinction of being the first novel of historical fiction published in the United States. It was a success and Child became a celebrity in Boston literary circles. In 1825, she published The Rebels, or Boston Before the Revolution, another historical novel which achieved instant success. In 1826, she founded the children's magazine Juvenile Miscellany. In 1828, she married David Lee Child, a lawyer and editor/publisher of the Massachusetts Journal. She began to contribute to his magazine and also began to share his political views. She was an advocate of Indian rights and developed strong abolitionist sentiments. In 1829, she published The Frugal Housewife, an advisory book that was extremely popular. In 1833, her work An Appeal in Favor of That Class of Americans Called African was instrumental in convincing many Americans that slavery should be abolished. She became close friends with Garrison, Channing, Wendel Phillips and other leading abolitionists of the day. She continued to publish other works throughout the 1830's and 1840's, but her abolitionist work took most of her efforts. After John Brown's Harper Ferry raid in 1857, she published a pamphlet on anti-slavery which sold three hundred thousand copies. After the Civil War and the end of slavery, she published The Freedmen's Book aimed at helping ex-slaves in their transition. In 1868, and in returning to her earlier interest, she published An Appeal for the Indians. Her other works include The Mother's Book (1831), Philothea (1836), Letters From New York (1843), Fact and Fiction (1846), Isaac T. Hopper: A True Life (1853), Autumnal Leaves (1857) and Aspirations of the World (1878). |
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