Molly Elliot Seawell
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Molly Elliot Seawell (October 23, 1860 – November 15, 1916), an early American historian and writer, was a descendant of the Seawells of
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and a niece of
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
John Tyler John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth president of the United States, serving from 1841 to 1845, after briefly holding office as the tenth vice president of the United States, vice president in 1841. He was elected ...
. Raised on a large
plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...
, her education included being "turned loose in a library of good books", her father's home containing the best literature of the 18th century. She read English classics, and was especially fond of poetry. She did not read a novel until after she was 17, and the first was
Oliver Goldsmith Oliver Goldsmith (10 November 1728 – 4 April 1774) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish poet, novelist, playwright, and hack writer. A prolific author of various literature, he is regarded among the most versatile writers of the Georgian e ...
's ''
The Vicar of Wakefield ''The Vicar of Wakefield: A Tale, Supposed to Be Written by Himself'' is a 1766 novel by Anglo-Irish writer Oliver Goldsmith (1728–1774). It was written from 1761 to 1762 and published in 1766. It was one of the most popular and widely read 18 ...
''. Her three amusements were reading, riding and piano-playing. Her father, a prominent lawyer, died just as Seawell reached adulthood. Seawell sent some stories to ''
Lippincott's Monthly Magazine ''Lippincott's Monthly Magazine'' was a 19th-century literary magazine published in Philadelphia from 1868 to 1915, when it relocated to New York to become ''Robert M. McBride, McBride's Magazine''. It merged with ''Scribner's Magazine'' in 1916. ...
'' when William S. Walsh was the editor. Recognizing Seawell's ability to be unusual, he encouraged her from the beginning. Her first stories were signed with a
pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...
till her friends persuaded her to sign her own name, which occurred after ''Maid Marian'' was published. This is considered her best story. She ventured into the genre of
juvenile literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...
when she sent ''Little Jarvis'' to ''
The Youth's Companion ''The Youth's Companion'' (1827–1929), known in later years as simply ''The Companion—For All the Family'', was an American children's magazine that existed for over one hundred years until it finally merged with '' The American Boy'' in 19 ...
'' to contend for the prize. It is possible that Seawell's essay "On the Absence of Creative Faculty in Women" attracted more attention than any of her books. Women answered it, and the discussion was joined by
Andrew Lang Andrew Lang (31 March 1844 – 20 July 1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a folkloristics, collector of folklore, folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectur ...
,
Thomas Wentworth Higginson Thomas Wentworth Higginson (December 22, 1823May 9, 1911), who went by the name Wentworth, was an American Unitarianism, Unitarian minister, author, Abolitionism, abolitionist, politician, and soldier. He was active in abolitionism in the United ...
, and others. ''
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'' stated that essay attracted more attention than any single article ever published in its columns. In style, Seawell was said to resemble
Jane Austen Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...
. Seawell's works, besides numerous short stories, included: ''Young Heros of our Navy'', ''Maid Marian and Other Stories'', ''Midshipman Paulding'', ''Hale Weston'', ''Paul Jones'', and ''The Midshipmen's Mess''.


Early life and education

Molly Elliot Seawell was born in
Gloucester, Virginia Gloucester Courthouse ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the county seat of Gloucester County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,951 at the 2010 census. History The Gloucester County Courthouse Square Historic District, ...
, a member of one of the older European families to settle in Virginia. Her father, John Tyler Seawell, a lawyer and orator, was a nephew of President John Tyler. Her mother (Tyler's second wife), Frances Elizabeth Jackson Seawell, was a native of
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whose father, Major William Jackson, a distinguished officer in the
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, who was with the Cavalry division at the
Battle of North Point The Battle of North Point was fought on September 12, 1814, between General John Stricker's Maryland Militia and a British force led by Major-General Robert Ross. Although the Americans were driven from the field, they were able to do so in g ...
, 12 September 1814. Descendants of the original Seawells spell the family name in one of two forms: "Sewell" (as in Sewell's Point,
Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...
) and "Seawell." Otis Notman interviewing Molly Elliot Seawell for '' The New York Times Saturday Review of Books'' noted that the regional pronunciation of the name was "Sowell," although Molly Elliot Seawell pronounced her name as it was spelled ("Talks", 392). Seawell spent her early life at the family's plantation home, "The Shelter," which had been a hospital in the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
. She described her early formation as a "... secluded life ... in the library of an old Virginia country house, and in a community where conditions more nearly resembled the eighteenth than the nineteenth century" ("The Ladies' Battle", 116). Her father was a student of the
Classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...
, who influenced her learning. She was not allowed to read a novel until she was 17, instead reading history, encyclopedias, and the works of
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
and the
Romantic poets Romantic poetry is the poetry of the Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. It involved a reaction against prevailing Neoclassical ideas of the 18th c ...
. Her education was primarily informal at home, where she learned riding, dancing, and household management. In addition to these influences and her
Tidewater Tidewater may refer to: * Tidewater (region), a geographic area of southeast Virginia, southern Maryland, and northeast North Carolina. ** Tidewater accent, an accent of American English associated with the Tidewater region of Virginia * Tidewater ...
surroundings, Seawell's seafaring uncle, Joseph Seawell, contributed to her future literary subjects.


Life

After her father's death and between her move to Norfolk and settling for life in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, Seawell made the first of many trips to Europe. Her visits took her to the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the union of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into one sovereign state, established by the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801. It continued in this form until ...
, France, Germany, and even as far as
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. Apparently the appeal of Russia and Germany was the therapeutic waters of the baths, to which Seawell attributed the improvement of a chronic eye condition (Notman "Some Authors," "Talks"). Her summers in Europe, returning to Washington in October, became a regular event. These travels extended the material of her literary subjects which included the sea, England, France, and
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. The household Seawell sustained with her mother and her younger sister Henrietta on
P Street P Street refers to four different streets within the city of Washington, D.C. The streets were named by President George Washington in 1791 as part of a general street naming program, in which east–west running streets were named alphabeticall ...
near Washington's fashionable Du Pont Circle was the location of an artists' salon of sorts. She entertained artists and writers there in addition to such notables of the time as the
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and his daughter, Lady Dorothy Howard (Notman "Some Authors," "Talks"). After the death of her mother and later of Henrietta, Seawell temporarily withdrew from social life, despite an enormous capacity for friendship and interest in people. Seawell's health had been precarious for a number of years. She died of cancer in her home on November 15, 1916, only a few weeks after her 56th birthday. Her
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was held at the Church of St. Matthew (now the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle). Her body was interred in
Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
's
Greenmount Cemetery Green Mount Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Established on March 15, 1838, and dedicated on July 13, 1839, it is noted for the large number of historical figures interred in its grounds as well as m ...
.


Writings

The death of her father when she was 20 (Notman "Talks" 392) prompted Molly Elliot Seawell, her mother and her younger sister, Henrietta, to move from "The Shelter" in Gloucester to Norfolk and later to Washington, D.C. It was either in Norfolk or in Washington that Seawell began her literary career in earnest. She first wrote using pseudonyms (including the patrician-sounding "Foxcroft Davis" – the novels ''Mrs. Darrell'' and ''The Whirl'' – and the Russian "Vera Sapoukhyn") until the publication of her short story ''Maid Marian'' in 1886, a tale she later dramatized for actress Rosina Vokes. Her first novel, ''Hale-Weston'', published in 1889, was widely read and translated into German. These successes established her literary career; in her own words: In 1890, Seawell received a prize for a short story. Five years later, she received a $3000 prize from the New York ''Herald'' for a story. Her literary production included forty books of fiction, collected short fiction, non-fiction, and numerous political columns from Washington for New York dailies and essays. Among her political essays was a 1910 article for ''The Atlantic Monthly'' opposing
women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...
, in which she also spoke ill of the extension of the franchise to
African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...
after the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
.Seawell, Molly Elliot, "The Ladies' Battle," ''The Atlantic Monthly'', Vol. 106, No.3 (1910), pp.289-303.
/ref> For her short stories and historical works, she was nominated for the
Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...
by American professor Charles W. Kent in
1910 Events January * January 6 – Abé people in the French West Africa colony of Côte d'Ivoire rise against the colonial administration; the rebellion is brutally suppressed by the military. * January 8 – By the Treaty of Punakha, t ...
and
1911 Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are added to the Commonwealth of Australia. * January 3 ** 1911 Kebin earthquake: An earthquake of 7.7 m ...


Style

Seawell's fiction might be distinguished into three genres: regional fiction, romances, and books for boys (primarily nautical stories). Their strong suit is Seawell's ability in characterization rather than her plots. In an interview with her, Notman observed this strength ("Talks" 392), to which she replied: "My people usually seem flesh and blood to me. If they do not have the breath of life in them at the beginning, no amount of labor can make them real." Mitchell in American Women Writers remarks more critically, "Plot was never her strong point, and the perfect ladies and gentlemen, the overt racism, and the condescending tone are interesting only because they reflect values once widespread" (41). Seawell was widely read in her time and, at the beginning of the 20th century, was included in standard reference works on
American writer The Lists of American writers include: United States By ethnicity *List of African-American writers * List of Asian-American writers * List of Cuban-American writers * List of Egyptian-American writers * List of Italian-American women writers ...
s and among the ''Times's'' Otis Notman's interviews with
William Dean Howells William Dean Howells ( ; March 1, 1837 – May 11, 1920) was an American Realism (arts), realist novelist, literary critic, playwright, and diplomat, nicknamed "The Dean of American Letters". He was particularly known for his tenure as editor of ...
,
Jack London John Griffith London (; January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors t ...
, and
Theodore Dreiser Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser (; August 27, 1871 – December 28, 1945) was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalism (literature), naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despi ...
.


Works

* ''Throckmorton; A Novel'' (1890) * ''Midshipman Paulding'' (New York, 1891) * ''Paul Jones'' (1892) * ''Decatur and Somers'' (1893) * ''The Berkeleys and their Neighbors'' (1894) * ''A Strange, Sad Comedy'' (1895) * ''The Sprightly Romance of Marsac'' (1896) * ''The History of Lady Betty Stair's Suitors'' (1897) * ''A Virginian Cavalier'' (1898) * ''The Rock of the Lion'' (1898) * ''The Loves of the Lady Arabella'' (1899) * ''The Fortunes of Fifi'' (1903) --(*made into a 1917 film The Fortunes of Fifi) * ''Mrs. Darrell'' (1905) * ''The Victory'' (1906) * ''The Whirl: A Romance of Washington Society'' (1909) * ''The Ladies' Battle'' (1910) *''Betty's Virginia Christmas'' (1914)


References


Bibliography

*


External links


Profile
* * *
Molly Elliot Seawell in ''Encyclopedia Virginia''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seawell, Molly Elliot 1860 births 1916 deaths 19th-century American novelists 20th-century American novelists American women dramatists and playwrights American political writers American women short story writers American women novelists People from Gloucester Courthouse, Virginia Novelists from Virginia Writers from Washington, D.C. Deaths from cancer in Washington, D.C. American women essayists 19th-century American women writers 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 19th-century American short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 19th-century American essayists 20th-century American essayists 19th-century pseudonymous writers Pseudonymous women writers American anti-suffragists