by Mrs Sherwood

Mary Martha Sherwood (nee Butt) (1775-1851) was a prolific and influential writer of children's literature in nineteenth-century Britain. She is known primarily for the strong evangelicalism that coloured her early writings; however, her later works are characterized by common Victorian themes, such as colonialism and domesticity. After she married Captain Henry Sherwood and moved to India, she converted to evangelical Christianity and began to write for children. Although her books were initially intended only for the children of the military encampments in India, the British public also received them enthusiastically. The Sherwoods returned to England after a decade in India and, building upon her popularity, Sherwood opened a boarding school and published scores of texts for children and the poor. She composed over 400 books, tracts, magazine articles, and chapbooks; among the most famous are: The Story of Little Henry and His Bearer Boosy (1814), The History of Henry Milner (1822) and The History of the Fairchild Family (1818).