Stephens, Ann (Sophia) Winterbotham

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STEPHENS, Ann (Sophia) Winterbotham

Born 30 March 1810, Humphreysville (now Seymour), Connecticut; died 20 August 1886, Newport, Rhode Island

Wrote under: Jonathan Slick, Mrs. Ann S. Stephens

Daughter of John and Ann Wrigley Winterbotham; married Edward Stephens, 1831; children: two

Ann Winterbotham Stephens was the third of 10 children, raised by her stepmother after the death of her own mother. Stephens was educated in local schools in Connecticut. After her marriage, she moved with her husband to Maine, where she edited and contributed to his publication, the Portland Magazine. In 1837 Stephens and her husband moved to New York, where she became active in literary circles and continued to edit and contribute to magazines. Her longest association was with Peterson's Magazine; she served as an editor, from 1842 to 1853, and contributed numerous serials later published as books. Stephens had two children and contributed significantly to the support of her family.

Stephens wrote humorous sketches (High Life in New York, published under the name Jonathan Slick, 1843), thrillers (such asHenry Langford; or, The Forged Will, 1847), novels with Indian themes (such as Malaeska: The Indian Wife of the White Hunter, 1860), and, especially, historical romances. Stephens' romances feature little action and focus instead on long descriptions of female clothing, which appealed to the women who were the primary readers of Peterson's. Stephens' stories fit in well with the other contents of the magazine, whose pages were filled with patterns for slippers and children's clothes and richly colored illustrations of house dresses, walking dresses, carriage dresses, etc. In fact, some passages of Stephens' stories read like modern advertising copy.

The romances also illustrate Stephens' conception of women. Women are always described externally, as if they appear on a stage. Many of her romances are merely a series of historical tableaux, silent scenes selected from well-known novels or legends set within a frame for an audience to view. The women posture in these serials, posing in the view of others. They are acted upon by others; or they wait for some lover to arrive. The women's clothes and jewelry conceal their emotions from others. In "The Pillow of Roses," Mary, Queen of Scots, constantly aware of the prying eyes of others, uses her jewels to conceal her mood.

As the magazines which Stephens edited and contributed to were aimed at the upper-class woman, so was her fiction. Although it contained many pictures of poverty, it was a sentimentalized poverty which only served to make her heroines attractive, innocent, and humble. As Peterson's declared, " This is emphatically the Magazine for ladies."

During her lifetime Stephens was an important writer and editor. Recognized and respected, she had a writing career of over 40 years and was read by the daughters of her original readers. Her work was being gathered into a 23-volume edition at her death in 1886. Today, however, her work can no longer find acceptance.

Other Works:

The Portland Sketchbook (edited by Stephens, 1836). Alice Copley: A Tale of Queen Mary's Time (1844). David Hunt and Malina Gray (1845). The Diamond Necklace, and Other Tales (1846). The Tradesman's Boast (1846). The Red Coats; or, The Sack of Unquowa: A Tale of the Revolution (1848). Fashion and Famine (1854). The Ladies' Complete Guide to Crochet, Fancy Knitting, and Needlework (1854). Zana; or, The Heiress of Clair Hall (1854). Frank Leslie's Portfolio of Fancy Needlework (edited by Stephens, 1855). The Old Homestead (1855). Myra, the Child of Adoption (1856). The Heiress of Greenhurst: An Autobiography (1857). Mary Derwent (1858). The Works of Mrs. Ann S. Stephens (23 vols., 1859-1886). Ahmo's Plot; or, The Governor's Indian Child (1860). Victor Hugo's Letter on John Brown, with Mrs. Ann S. Stephen's Reply (1860). Sybil Chase; or, The Valley Ranche: A Tale of California (1861). Esther: A Story of the Oregon Trail (1862). Mahaska: The Indian Princess (1863). The Rejected Wife; or, The Ruling Passion (1863). The Indian Queen (1864). A Pictorial History of the War for the Union (2 vols., 1863-1865). The Wife's Secret (1864). Silent Struggles (1865). The Gold Brick (1866). Double False (1868). Mabel 's Mistake (1868). The Curse of Gold (1869). Ruby Gray's Strategy (1869). Wives and Widows; or, The Broken Life (1869). Married in Haste (1870). A Noble Woman (1871). Palaces and Prisons (1871). The Reigning Belle (1872). Lord Hope's Choice (1873). The Old Countess; or, The Two Proposals (A sequel to Lord Hope's Choice, 1873). Bellehood and Bondage (1874). Bertha's Engagement (1875). Norston's Rest (1877). The Lady Mary (1887).

Bibliography:

Brown, H. R., The Sentimental Novel in America, 1789-1860 (1940). Douglas, A., The Feminization of American Culture (1977). Papashvily, H. W., All the Happy Endings (1956). Stern, M. B., We the Women (1963).