Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte Southworth (1819–1899)

Emma Southworth, née Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte, also known as E.D.E.N. Southworth, was born in Washington, DC. She was educated in a school run by her stepfather, Joshua L. Henshaw, and after completing secondary studies, became a teacher for five years. In 1840, she married Frederick Southworth, an itinerant inventor. When her husband deserted the family in 1844, she became a teacher again and also turned to writing to support herself and her two children. Her debut novel, Retribution, published in 1849, was a bestseller. She went on to write 66 more novels, many of them first published in serialized form in periodicals such as The Saturday Evening Post and the New York Ledger. Mrs. Southworth was one of the most prolific and popular 19th-century American novelists, reaching a wide audience in the USA and Europe. Among her other successful novels were The Curse of Clifton (1852), The Hidden Hand (1859), and The Fatal Marriage (1863). She was a member of the Woman's National Press Association and a supporter of women's rights.