Classic Authors: Harriet Beecher Stowe

Harriet Beecher Stowe catapulted from relative anonymity into internationally-known author with the publication of her anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin. Although the book generated enormous controversy, Harriet did not write it for fame or fortune. In fact, she claimed that God had written the book; she was simply His instrument. However it came about, Uncle Tom's Cabin became one of the most influential books ever written.

Harriet came from humble beginnings. She was born on June 14, 1811, in Litchfield, Connecticut, the seventh of nine children. Her father, Lyman Beecher, served as a Congregational minister, and became quite well-known. Her mother, a God-fearing preacher's wife, died when Harriet was only five. In the absence of her mother, Harriet grew close to her sister Catherine. Shortly after she turned 13, Harriet began teaching in a school run by Catherine. The two also wrote books together.

In 1836, Harriet married Calvin Stowe, a professor and clergyman. Like Harriet, he opposed slavery. Together, they housed fugitive slaves, and encouraged each other in their writing. Calvin wrote only one book to Harriet's many, but he urged her to establish her own writing career; he even became her literary agent in both the United States and England.

As a professor, Calvin's earnings were meager; Harriet wrote to support them. She divided her time between caring for her seven children, managing her home, and writing for local and religious publications. Despite the care and attention she showered on her offspring, Harriet would watch four of them die tragic deaths: one died of cholera, another by drowning, another from mental illness, and yet another from a drug addiction. These tragedies heightened her compassion for slave mothers who were being torn from their children daily. From this deep connection, grew Uncle Tom's Cabin.

The book, which has never been out of print, became an overnight success. According to an article on Domestic Goddesses Domestic Goddesses , it sold more copies than any other book before it excepting the Holy Bible. It originally appeared in serial form in the anti-slavery newspaper, National Era, and was published in book form in 1852. Although immensely popular when published, Uncle Tom's Cabin has come under fire by modern readers for being romanticized, sentimental, and preachy. However, if one looks at it from Harriet's point of view, one can see it for what it is: a testimony of the evils of slavery from a woman who really cared.

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