Mary Jane Holmes
Novelist
The American writer of nearly forty novels and many short stories, she is known for works such as Tempest and Sunshine; The English Orphans; Lena Rivers; and Mildred.
She started teaching school when she was just thirteen years old.
She sold over two million copies of her books during her lifetime.
She and her eight siblings were born in Massachusetts. She married Daniel Holmes in 1849.
She sold more novels than any writer of her generation, with the exception of Harriet Beecher Stowe.