Jacob Abbott (1803 - 1879)

Genre: Children's Literature

Novelist, historian, and Congregational clergyman from Hallowell (also lived in Farmington), Abbott (Bowdoin, 1820) is the author of over 200 books, best-known for his Little Rollo books and his Lucy books, which mixed instruction with entertainment. Rollo Learning to Read is available online through Pat Pflieger's site, as is Rollo's Travels. The Literature for Children database has full-text reproductions of a number of Abbott's works, including Caleb in the Country (1852), History of Cleopatra, queen of Egypt (1851), and many others. Abbott's granddaughter, Eleanor Hallowell Abbott (1872-1958), was a popular short-story writer, novelist, and memoirist in her own right; her best known work is Molly Make-Believe (1910).

Diedre Johnson lists Jacob Abbott's girls series books on her 19th Century Girls Series page.

A good bibliography of Abbott's works is available through Pat Pflieger's 'Nineteenth-Century Children and What They Read' site - they're listed in chronological order. She also cites a book that contains a list of Abbott's works: A Bibliography of Jacob Abbott, compiled by Carl J. Weber (Waterville, ME: Colby College Press, 1948). Bowdoin College offers an online collection guide to Abbott's personal papers.

Williams/Wallace
Last Update: 07/15/2008

(Return to List)