Mary Jane Holmes

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Mary Jane Holmes (1825-1907)

the American Jane Austen, has been systematically erased from academia and history until she is barely known.

This is how G. W. Dillingham, one of her publishers, describes her: “The name of Mary Jane Holmes is a household word to millions of readers. All her stories glow with the same love of outdoor nature and purity of motive and expression. Her books have sold in greater numbers than almost any other American novelist–in fact her stories have been universally read and her admirers are numberless. For many years she stood without a rival in fiction. Her characters are always life-like and she makes them talk and act like human beings, subject to the same emotions, swayed by the same passions, and actuated by the same motives that are common among men and women of everyday existence.

Listen to our podcast as we analyze her life, why she succeeded, and a few of her nearly 50 stories.

Mary Jane Holmes Books on Kindle

Other Books Mentioned

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Work Cited

“Mary Jane Holmes.” American Literature, https://americanliterature.com/author/mary-jane-holmes/. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.

“Mary Jane Holmes: Brockport’s Authoress.” Brockport Museum & Library of Local History, 14 Mar. 2022, https://brockporthistorymuseum.org/explore/mary-jane-holmes-brockports-authoress/.