Marietta Holley — Samantha in Europe

New York , Funk and Wagnalls Company, 1896. Cloth. Samantha in Europe by Josiah Allen's Wife (Marietta Holley) and illustrated by C. De Grimm. First American edition. Marietta Holley (1836 - 1926), was an American humorist who used satire to comment on U.S. society and politics. Holley was frequently compared to Mark Twain and Edgar Nye. Holley enjoyed a prolific writing career, and was a bestselling author in the late 19th-century. Included in her works was a series of ten books that revolved around a character named Samantha and her husband Josiah Allen as they journey outside of Samantha's rural hometown, similar to her home in Jefferson County, NY. Holley spent most of her life close to her family's farm, rarely leaving. Aside from Saratoga and Coney Island, Holley never actually visited the places she wrote about in her Samantha series. She depended on maps, guidebooks and descriptions and to write her narratives based on the learned knowledge. In an illustrated cloth binding. Externally, smart but with slight wear to extremities and the odd slight mark to boards. Internally, generally firmly bound although slightly strained in places. Bright but with the minor marginal age toning in places and the odd slight handling mark. Very Good . Ill.: C. De Grimm. Very Good .