Author Profile: Sarah Orne Jewett

Full Name: Theodora Sarah Orne Jewett

Born: September 3, 1849, in South Berwick, Maine

Died: June 24, 1909, in South Berwick, Maine

Wrote: The Country of the Pointed Firs, A White Heron

Jewett grew up in Maine, where she based many of her works. As a child, she often went with her physician father on his rounds through the countryside. Her father, Theodore Herman Jewett, was likely an inspiration for her novel, A Country Doctor. Her love for the nature in the Maine countryside and its locals was reflected in her short stories and poems about the people and places where she grew up. Her style of writing is often described as literary realism, as she often incorporated the speech patterns and mannerisms of Maine residents in her work, giving her home a life on the page.