Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Stephens, Ann Sophia

STEPHENS, Ann Sophia, author, b. in Derby, Conn., in 1818; d. in Newport. R. I., 20 Aug., 1886. Her maiden name was Winterbotham. She married Edward Stephens in 1831, and shortly afterward settled in Portland, Me. She founded the "Portland Magazine" in 1835, and continued to edit it till 1887. In 1836 she issued a collection of writings by natives or residents of Portland, which she entitled "The Portland Sketch-Book." Meanwhile her writings were beginning to be known, and when her husband received an appointment in the New York custom-house in 1837 she made that city her residence. She edited "The Ladies' Companion" for four years, wrote tor "Graham's Magazine" and "Peterson's Magazine," and was for some time associate editor of these periodicals. She founded "The Ladies' World" in 1843 and "The Illustrated New Monthly" in 1846, and was during her life frequent contributor for various other periodicals. She also wrote several poems, one of which, "The Polish Boy," has long been a favorite for recitation in schools. Her principal short stories were "Mary Derwent," for which she obtained a prize of $400, "Malvia Gray," " The Patchwork Quilt," and "A Story of Western Life." In 1850 she made a tour through Europe and the East. On her return she published her first long novel, " Fashion and Famine " (New York, 1854), which is the best known, if not the best, of her stories. In France three different translations of it were published. Although Mrs. Stephens belonged to the intense school of novelists, her attention to minute details and her clearness of vision enabled her to be very realistic in the transcription of natural scenes, and she never hesitated to visit hospitals, public institutions, and even dangerous resorts, in search of striking types of character. Her principal works besides those mentioned include "Zana, or the Heiress of Clare Hall" (London, 1854; republished as "The Heiress of Greenhurst," New York, 1857) ; "The Old Homestead" (1856; 3 vols., Philadelphia, I860); "Sybil Chase" (1862); and "Ahmo's Plot" (1863). Mrs. Stephens also wrote a "Pictorial History of the War for the Union." A uniform edition of her writings was issued (Philadelphia, 1869 ; new ed., 23 vols., 1886).