Pollyanna Whittier is a young orphan who goes to live in Beldingsville, Vermont, with her wealthy but stern Aunt Polly, who does not want to take in Pollyanna, but feels it is her duty to her late sister. Pollyanna has an optimistic and positive attitude, finding something to be glad about in every situation, no matter how bleak it may be. Pollyanna infectious attitude transforms the people around her, but her optimism is put to the test when the unthinkable happens.
Pollyanna is a best-selling 1913 novel by Eleanor H. Porter that is now considered a classic of children's literature, with the title character's name becoming a popular term for someone with the same very optimistic outlook. Also, the subconscious bias towards the positive is often described as the Pollyanna principle. Pollyanna has been adapted for film several times, including Disney's 1960 version starring child actress Hayley Mills, who won a special Oscar for the role.
This cloth-bound book includes a Victorian inspired dust-jacket, and is limited to 100 copies.
Author Biography
Eleanor Emily Hodgman Porter (December 19, 1868 - May 21, 1920) was an American novelist. She was born as Eleanor Emily Hodgman in Littleton, New Hampshire, as the daughter of Llewella French (nee Woolson) and Francis Fletcher Hodgman. She was trained as a singer, attending the New England Conservatory for several years. In 1892 she married John Lyman Porter and relocated to Massachusetts, after which she began writing and publishing her short stories and, later, novels. She died in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on May 21, 1920, and was buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery. Porter wrote mainly children's literature, adventure stories, and romance fiction. Her most famous novel is Pollyanna (1913). Her adult novels include The Turn of the Tide (1908), The Road to Understanding (1917), Oh Money! Money! (1918), Dawn (1919), Keith's Dark Tower (1919), Mary Marie (1920), and Sister Sue (1921); her short-story collections include Across the Years (c. 1923), Money, Love and Kate (1923), and Little Pardner (1926). Porter achieved considerable commercial success: Pollyanna ranked eighth among best-selling novels in the United States during 1913, second during 1914, and fourth during 1915 (with 47 printings between 1915 and 1920); Just David ranked third in 1916; The Road to Understanding ranked fourth in 1917; Oh Money! Money! ranked fifth in 1918.
