Jean Webster

Jean Webster (1876–1916) was an American novelist and playwright, best remembered for her charming epistolary fiction. Born Alice Jane Chandler Webster in Fredonia, New York, she was the grandniece of Mark Twain, whose household nourished her early literary ambitions. She graduated from Vassar College in 1901, where she began writing fiction and developed a lasting commitment to social reform.

Webster's novels blend humor, romance, and a keen concern for social justice. Her debut, "When Patty Went to College" (1903), drew on her own campus life, followed by "The Wheat Princess" (1905), "Jerry Junior" (1907), "Four-Pools: A Romance" (1908), "The Heart of the Hills" (1909), and "Just Patty" (1911).

Her masterpiece, "Daddy-Long-Legs" (1912), tells the story of Judy Abbott, an orphan whose anonymous benefactor pays for her college education. Told entirely through Judy's witty, affectionate letters, the novel became an international bestseller, inspired a successful Broadway play in 1914, and was later adapted into films, including "Curly Top" starring Shirley Temple. Its sequel, "Dear Enemy" (1915), follows Sallie McBride as she modernizes the John Grier Orphanage.

An active suffragist and penal reform advocate, Webster died in 1916 shortly after giving birth to her daughter, leaving behind a legacy of warmth, wit, and progressive idealism.