Sarah Orne Jewett was born in South Berwick, Maine on September 3, 1849, to Dr. Theodore Harmon Jewett, a country doctor, and Caroline Frances Jewett (née Perry).
Jewett was born into a family well established in New England society. She enjoyed a relaxed childhood, challenged by her arthritis but lifted by both her frequent journeys into the countryside and her visits around the district with her father. Her experiences at this time would later inspire her 1884 novel, A Country Doctor. Jewett developed a keen sense of observation that would later help establish her reputation as what was known as a 'local-color' writer. She became a published author in 1868, when The Atlantic Monthly...