Sara Hawks Sterling (March 4, 1874 - December 26, 1936) was an American schoolteacher and novelist. Sterling specialized in fiction about historical and legendary figures, such as

King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...

, and

Anne Hathaway Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. List of awards and nominations received by Anne Hathaway, Her accolades include an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime ...

. Her novel ''Shakespeare's Sweetheart'', published in 1905, is an early attempt to view

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 ...

's life and romantic exploits from a female perspective. ''Shakespeare's Sweetheart'' and ''A Lady of King Arthur's Court'' were both illustrated by Clara Elsene Peck.

Personal life

Sterling was born on March 4, 1874, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Pennsylvania, to Dr. John and Mary Sterling."United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MWJ7-H62 : 19 February 2021), Sarah H Sterling in household of John Sterling, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States; citing enumeration district ED 82, sheet 148B, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm 1,255,169. She appears to have remained in Philadelphia, and never married. According to her listing in the Woman's Who's who in America of 1914–1915, she was against

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 ...

; however, her actual viewpoints regarding women's suffrage have never been concretely determined. She was a member of the

Browning Society Browning societies were groups who met to discuss the works of Robert Browning. Emerging from various reading groups, the societies indicated the poet's fame, and unusually were forming in his lifetime.Murray, H. (2002) ''Come, bright improvemen ...

of Philadelphia, the Shakespeare Company, and the

Dickens Fellowship The Dickens Fellowship was founded in 1902, and is an international association of people from all walks of life who share an interest in the life and works of Victorian era novelist Charles Dickens. The Dickens Fellowship's head office is based ...

. In addition to her writing, Sterling taught English at the

Philadelphia High School for Girls Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the sixth-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 1,603,797 in the 2020 census. The city is the urb ...

from 1906 to 1912, and the West Philadelphia High School for Girls starting in 1912. She earned a bachelor of arts in teaching from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

in 1918, and was a member of the Women Teachers' Organization. She died December 26, 1936, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

, which she caught after directing a Christmas play for the Philadelphia High School for Girls.The Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 29 Dec 1936, Tue Page 6 She is buried at

Woodlands Cemetery The Woodlands is a National Historic Landmark District on the west bank of the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. It includes a Federal-style mansion, a matching carriage house and stable, and a garden landscape that in 1840 was transformed int ...

in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Works

* ''Hamlet's brides: a Shakespearean burlesque in one act'' (1900) * ''Shakespeare's sweetheart'' (1905) * '' A Lady of King Arthur's Court: Being a Romance of the Holy Grail'' (1907) * ''Robin Hood and his merry men'' (1921)

References

Links

Online Books page for Sara Hawks Sterling
{{Authority control 20th-century American women writers American women novelists Schoolteachers from Pennsylvania 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American educators Novelists from Pennsylvania Writers from Philadelphia Educators from Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania alumni American women dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American women educators Deaths from pneumonia in Pennsylvania