Hannah Webster Foster

Hannah Webster Foster (1758-1840) was an American novelist. Born the daughter of a successful merchant, Foster was raised in Salisbury, Massachusetts, where she obtained an unusually rigorous education for a woman of her time. She wrote poltical articles for newspapers published in Boston throughout the 1770s, and, after marrying the Rev. John Foster, moved to Brighton, Massachusetts. She published two novels anonymously, using the title "A Lady of Massachusetts," and though her work was popular and financially successful, her identity remained a secret for years after her death. Following the 1829 death of her husband, Foster moved to Montreal to live with her daughters, and lived in Canada for the rest of her life. Two of her daughters, Harriet Vaughan Cheney and Eliza Lanesford Cushing, followed in their mother's footsteps to become popular writers of nineteenth century America. Foster is an underrecognized figure in American literature as well as a pioneering advocate for women's education.