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Search - List of Books by Sarah Smith

Hesba Stretton (1832–1911) was the nom de plume of Sarah Smith, an English author of children's literature. The name Hesba came from the initials of her siblings.

She was the daughter of a bookseller from Wellington, Shropshire. About 1867, she moved south and lived at Snaresbrook and Loughton near Epping Forest and at Ham, near Richmond, Surrey. She is considered one of the most popular Evangelical writers in the nineteenth century. She used her "Christian principles as a protest against specific social evils in her children's books." Her moral tales and semi-religious stories, chiefly for the young, were printed in huge quantities, and were especially widespread as school and Sunday school prizes, She won wide acceptance in English homes from the publication of Jessica's First Prayer in 1867. She was a regular contributor to Household Words and All the Year Round during Charles Dickens' editorship, and wrote more than of 40 novels.

Stretton's most popular book, Jessica's First Prayer, was first published in the journal Sunday at Home in 1866 and the next year as a novel. By the end of the nineteenth century, Jessica's First Prayer had sold at least a million and a half copies. Brian Alderson notes that number of copies was "nearly ten times as many as Alice in Wonderland." Stretton's popular book began a genre of stories about homeless children "that successfully combined elements of the sensational novel and the religious tract and helped introduce the image of the poor, urban child into the Victorian social conscious." She wrote a sequel, Jessica's Mother, published in Sunday at Home in 1866 and as a book in 1904. The Jessica books are about a homeless girl in Victorian London, abandoned by an alcoholic mother who is an actress, who finds comfort and religious support in a friendship with Daniel Standring, an owner of a coffee stall near a railroad. Jessica is a child actress who then becomes too big for children's productions. She is beaten by her mother, receives little to eat, and wanders London. Standring, as a chapel keeper in a Methodist church, helps her out and, as a result, re-evaluates his concept of religion and respectability.

Stretton became the chief writer for the Religious Tract Society. Gillian Avery writes that Stretton's experience of working with slum children in Manchester during the 1860s helped give her books a sense of authenticity and less smug piety of similar books. Avery write that Stretton's books "drive home the abject state of the poor with almost brutal force."

Stretton was one of the founders of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children in 1884. She worked to eliminate child abuse and poverty.
This author page uses material from the Wikipedia article "Sarah Smith", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0
Total Books: 93
Dessert Flirt Repeat
2023 - Dessert Flirt Repeat (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9798397795586
ISBN-10: N/A
Genre: Romance
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Even If the Sky is Falling
2023 - Even If the Sky Is Falling (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9781335452559
ISBN-10: 1335452559
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Romance
  • Currently 1/5 Stars.
 1

In Love with Lewis Prescott
2023 - In Love with Lewis Prescott [I Heart SF, 2] (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9781335984883
ISBN-10: 1335984887
Genre: Romance
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The CloseUp
2023 - The Closeup [I Heart SF, 1] (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9781335014825
ISBN-10: 1335014829
Genre: Romance
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Simmer Down
2020 - Simmer Down (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9781984805447
ISBN-10: 1984805444
Genres: Cookbooks, Food & Wine, Literature & Fiction, Romance
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
 1

Crimes and Survivors
2019 - Crimes and Survivors [The Reisden and Perdita Mysteries] (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9781951636036
ISBN-10: 1951636031
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Romance
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Faker
2019 - Faker (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9781984805423
ISBN-10: 1984805428
Genre: Romance
  • Currently 2.5/5 Stars.
 2

A Guide to Growing Up Honest Conversations About Puberty Sex and God
The Blended Course Design Workbook A Practical Workbook
2016 - The Blended Course Design Workbook a Practical Workbook (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9781620364369
ISBN-10: 1620364360
Genre: Education & Teaching
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Conspiracy
2016 - Conspiracy (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9781610373104
ISBN-10: 1610373103
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The Butterfly House
2014 - The Butterfly House (Hardcover)
ISBN-13: 9781849762052
ISBN-10: 1849762058
Genre: Children's Books
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Oxford Handbook of Geriatric Medicine
2012 - Oxford Handbook of Geriatric Medicine [Oxford Medical Handbooks] (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9780199586097
ISBN-10: 0199586098
Genre: Medical Books
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The Other Side of Dark
2011 - The Other Side of Dark (Paperback)Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9781442402812
ISBN-10: 1442402814
Genre: Teen & Young Adult
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Pilgrim Street A story of Manchester life By the author of Jessica's First Prayer  etc
2011 - Pilgrim Street a Story of Manchester Life By the Author of Jessica's First Prayer Etc [i.e. Sarah Smith writing under the pseudonym of Hesba Stretton] (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9781240903320
ISBN-10: 1240903324
Genre: History
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In and Out of Ice/Glass Living With Dissociative Identity Disorder and Chemical Dependency
The Other Side of Dark
2010 - The Other Side of Dark (Hardcover)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9781442402805
ISBN-10: 1442402806
Genres: Children's Books, Teen & Young Adult
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 3

Oxford American Handbook of Geriatric Medicine
2010 - Oxford American Handbook of Geriatric Medicine [Oxford American Handbooks] (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9780195373189
ISBN-10: 0195373189
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Hester Morley's Promise by Hesba Stretton
2010 - Hester Morley's Promise By Hesba Stretton (Paperback)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9781148080888
ISBN-10: 1148080880
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The Clives of Burcot by Hesba Stretton
2010 - The Clives of Burcot By Hesba Stretton (Paperback)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9781147651867
ISBN-10: 1147651868
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Lost Gip by Hesba Stretton Presentation Ed
2010 - Lost Gip By Hesba Stretton Presentation Ed (Paperback)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9781143925917
ISBN-10: 1143925912
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David Lloyd's Last Will by Hesba Stretton
2010 - David Lloyd's Last Will By Hesba Stretton (Paperback)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9781142490348
ISBN-10: 1142490343
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2009 - Brought Home [1875] (Paperback)Hardcover
2005 - Health Care Evaluation [Understanding Public Health] (Paperback)
2005 - Children Cinema and Censorship From Dracula to Dead End [Turner Classic Movies British Film Guides] (Hardcover)
1998 - Das Dunkle Haus Am See [German Edition] (Paperback)
1996 - The Knowledge of Water [Vanished Child, Bk 2] (Hardcover)
The Pizza Shop [Alphakids] (Other)
Little Meg's Children [Early Children's Books] (Hardcover)
El Heredero [Spanish Edition] (Paperback)