Eleonor Porter

Eleanor Porter (née Eleanor Hodgman) was an American children's writer and novelist.

Eleanor Porter (born Eleanor Hodgman) was born in 1868 in the town of Littleton, New Hampshire, into a family descended from some of the earliest British settlers. She received her education at a local school, then studied singing at the conservatory in Boston and performed successfully at social concerts and in churches. In 1892, she married businessman John Lyman Porter and moved with him first to Massachusetts, then to Tennessee, and finally to New York.

Beginning in 1892, she published her short stories in American magazines under the pseudonym Eleanor Stuart, and in 1907 her first novel, Cross Currents, appeared. The novel was warmly received by readers, and the following year its sequel, The Turn of the Tide, was published. But Porter’s true bestsellers were her new books. In 1911, the novella Miss Billy, about an orphan girl who goes to live with unfamiliar relatives, was offered to readers. The success of the book inspired Porter, and soon new books about Miss Billy appeared: Miss Billy’s Decision and Miss Billy Marries. And in 1913, the novella appeared for which the writer owes her worldwide and enduring fame—Pollyanna. The book was immediately greeted with enthusiastic acclaim by readers of all ages, and demand for it could not be met even by print runs in the millions (by 1920, the book had already been reprinted 47 times!). “Pollyanna Clubs” were founded all across America, not only for children; several such clubs were even created in American prisons. The famous silent film actress Mary Pickford paid Porter an astronomical sum by the standards of the time for the rights to adapt the novella for the screen. On Broadway, the play Pollyanna (an adaptation by Catherine Cunning) starring Ellen Hays in the title role enjoyed a noisy success.

The writer received many letters asking her to continue the story of her unusual heroine, and in 1915 a second book appeared—Pollyanna Grows Up—which was also met with great enthusiasm by publishers and readers.

Porter continued writing until her death, and her new works aroused considerable public interest. Altogether, during her writing career, Porter created four volumes of short stories and fourteen novels for children and adults