Sarah Orne Jewett (1849-1909)

Sarah Orne Jewett was a novelist known for using the Maine seacoast as a literary setting. At age 19, when she published her first important story in the Atlantic Monthly, Jewett became friends with its editor, James Thomas Fields, and his wife, writer and philanthropist Annie Adams Fields. The Fields dwelt at the soul of literary life in Boston. After James’ death in 1881, Jewett and Fields lived together for the rest of Jewett’s life in a Boston marriage: two women cohabiting without male support. Whether Jewett and Fields were also lovers remains the subject of speculation.