Harriet Beecher-Stowe Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Short Story Collections

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Harriet Beecher-Stowe was a social activist and author best known for her anti-slavery novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” Beecher was born in Litchfield, Connecticut in 1811. She was born to Lyman Beecher, a religious leader and stay at home mother Roxanna Foote. Her father was one of the most known and well respected pre-Civil War era Evangelical preachers that were determined to shape the social direction that his nation took. Her mother was a novel reading woman brought up in an Episcopalian and cosmopolitan family. As such Beecher grew up in an artistic family and studied painting in school and produced spectacular portraits. Unfortunately, her mother died when Harriet was only five and her father had to remarry. From this point on, Catherine Beecher who was Beecher’s oldest sister became the most influential female voice in her life. It was from her sister and her father that she got the values that would inspire her to write her social and cultural change novels starting with “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.”

Growing up, Harriet Beecher was an intelligent child with a great mind that stood out even among the outstanding personalities of the Beecher family. As an eight-year-old, she was enrolled in the Litchfield Female Academy, a school founded to show that female intellect was just as good as its male counterpart. At the school, her teacher John Brace would become her most significant influence as she would later employ his methods in her writings. The first assignment that he gave the young Becher was on “The Difference between the Moral Sublime and the Natural,” which was neither sentimental and trashy, making it a very unusual topic for a female school. When she turned nine, she began writing weekly essays, and by the time she was thirteen her composition was read out at the yearly school exhibition. It was such a proud achievement, particularly when not even her father did not believe how good it was and asked who the author was. As a young teen, she enrolled as a student at a female seminary. Unlike her female peers, she got to study male-oriented subjects such as moral philosophy and Latin even as she dreamed of one day becoming an accomplished artist just like her mother. While she was a painter throughout her life, ultimately, she would become known as a wordsmith that moved people with what she put on paper rather than canvas.

Harriet’s father Lyman Beecher was a strong proponent of the abolition of slavery following the 1836 Cincinnati Riots. It was from their father that most of the Beecher children found inspiration for their abolitionist beliefs. With several of her friends, Stowe founded the Semi-Colon Club, a local literary association that promoted abolition. It was at the club that she met seminary teacher and fellow member Calvin Elis Stone that she would soon become fast friends with. The friendship soon blossomed into love and the two got married and made their home in Brunswick, Maine. She started writing during this time in what would become a five-decade career in which she published countless hymns, short stories, novels, articles, and poems. While she initially just dabbled in writing, the turning point was when her son died of cholera in the 1849 epidemic. The death of her son inspired the empathy she felt for mothers who had their children taken away from them by slavery. When the Fugitive Slave Act was passed in 1850, Stowe and many like-minded people in the North were infuriated. It was at this time that she penned “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” her most famous work. She saw her work as a rallying call for Northerners to disobey the act that legally bound them to return escaped slaves to their owners from the South. The novel came out in 1852 and instantly became a bestseller selling more than 300, 000 copies in its first year. She went on to publish “A Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin” in 1853 and “Dred” in 1856, both of which were critically acclaimed novels that spoke against slavery.

Harriet Beecher’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” is the story of an extremely pious, kind, and faithful Uncle Tom and several other characters. At the opening of the story, Tom is fortunate in that he is owned by the Shelby family that is known for its kind and humane treatment of their slaves. Unfortunately, it is not all smooth sailing since Arthur Shelby the patriarch of the family is not as kind as his son or his wife. He decides that Tom, Eliza, and her young son should be sold to a slave merchant but Eliza runs off with her son when she learns of Shelby’s plans. Being the pious man that he is, Tom prefers to stay put and he is finally sold to the merchant. On his journey to the coast with the merchant, he is lucky to meet a very kind man named Augustine St. Clare who is traveling with Eva his angelic little daughter. Augustine asks to buy Tom and together they set out to New Orleans where Tom has a great life for more than a decade as he awaits his friend an owner Augustine to grant him his promised freedom. But before he can be freed, Augustine dies and Tom finds himself sold again only to be purchased by Simon Legree, an irredeemably evil owner of a slave plantation.

“Dred” by Harriet Beecher-Stowe tells of an impetus young heiress named Nina Gordon. She is the heir apparent to a large plantation in the south but the land is fast losing its fertility and value. Running the plantation is Harry, one of her slaves who ha a murderous rivalry with the cruel and drunken slaveowner Tom Gordon who is also Nina’s brother. Nina is a beautiful girl and has several suitors before she settles on the religiously, socially but very idealistic Clayton. In addition to Harry, the there are several other characters including a joker type character named Tomtit, and Christina Milly who is a very devout Christian. There is also Old Tiff, a devoted slave that is the property of a family of poor whites. The titular character Dred lives with his fellow escaped slave in the “Great Dismal Swamp.” They often preach angry and violent retribution for the evil that had been committed against them by slavery. They also speak and plan to rescue many of their fellow slaves from the slave owners and merchants.

“The Minister’s Wooing” by Harriet Beecher-Stowe is a thrilling story set in Newport. The story happens at a time when it was a prosperous shipping and fishing town rather than the fashionable retreat for the uber-wealthy that it is now. The lead protagonist is a forty-year-old preacher named Dr. Hopkins that falls in love with Mary the daughter of his host. Mary is still in love with a sailor named James Marvyn and cannot return his affections even though her lover is presumed lost at sea. She is a saintly and religious girl but she is also practical and hence after several months of mourning she says yes to Dr. Hopkins’ marriage proposal. While she has promised to marry Dr. Hopkins, many other suitors still want her hand. These include the evil Aaron Burr the man raised in Calvinism and grandson to Jonathan Edwards though he could not be any more evil. Things become complicated when James suddenly returns and Dr. Hopkins finds himself in a race he knows he cannot win.

2 Responses to “Harriet Beecher-Stowe”

1. Cynthia Scott: 4 years ago

   I thank you for providing this list of Harriet B. Stowe’s writing works. Everyone knows about Uncle Tom’s Cabin, but not necessarily the many other things she wrote. This information helps with an academic assignment.

   Reply
   • Graeme: 4 years ago

     You’re welcome thanks for taking the time to comment 🙂

     Reply