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Helen Eliza Fitch Parker
Helen the Author
 
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References

Helen was an accomplished author.  Some of the books she wrote are available in a digitized form on the internet, and some are quite rare.  From what I have seen of her writings she wrote in a natural, simple yet not simplistic style.  She wrote books that were intended for audiences of different ages, and would adjust her style appropriately.
Among the books she wrote were:

Sunrise and Sunset (1854).  This book is available online  here.  This is a well-written book about a family's adventures growing up in Ireland.  There is some anti-Irish Catholic ethnic prejudice in it, however. 

  Morning Stars of the New World (1854).  This one is also available online here.  The illustration below is from this book--there is a signature of the artist, but I can't make out a name.  The book tells the stories of a number of characters from the history of the New World:  Christopher Columbus, Americus Vespucius, Captain John Smith, William Penn, and a few others.

Rambles after Land Shells (1863):   This is a remarkable book, and additional web pages will be devoted to it.  It was a Sunday School book, and has a religious viewpoint.  It was also written in the middle of the American Civil War and mentions some of the activities of the civilians watching their relatives going off to war.  It is about a boy finding a variety of terrestial snails, and it is primarily a book about snails.  A Sunday School book about snails?  It might be the only one.  This book is available online here.  The publisher was the American Tract Society.

Frank’s Search for Sea Shells (1866):  This is a rare book, and it is not available online.  There seem to only be a handful of copies in existence.  It also was published by the American Tract Society, and while it is about sea shells rather than terrestrial snails, it seems to be similar to the previously mentioned book.

Constance of Aylmar  A Story of the Seventeenth Century (1869):  This book reminds me of a romance novel, but with some significant differences.  It is available online here, and as a publish-on-demand book from a number of sources (including Amazon.com).   Like a romance novel, it is about a young girl finding love, and it is set in the exotic locations of early New Amsterdam (later to become New York) and England.   It does stay safe, however, with all real passion reserved for feelings of understanding God's will for the heroine.

Blind Florette (1871):  This seems to be a children's book as well, and quite rare.  It does not seem to be available online, but apparently exercpts from the book were used in "readers"--books designed to teach children to read.  One can be found here.

Arthur’s Aquarium (1872):  This book apparently only exists as one copy in the Ohio State University library.  It seems to be a Sunday School book, and one in which she writes about insects.  An exerpt from Reading for the Young (Sargent, 1890) describes it: 

Discoverers and Pioneers of America (1860) :  This is mainly a re-issue of the earlier book, Morning Stars of the New World.

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