ELIZABETH STUART PHELPS (1844 – 1911) was born in Boston, began summering in Gloucester as a young woman, and eventually built a cottage for herself on Eastern Point. Interestingly, it was Phelps who took Longfellow for his first visit to Norman’s Woe shortly before his death. Phelps’ 1868 story about a tragic fire at the Pemberton Mill in Lawrence, MA, established her reputation as a writer, and also in that year, her novel
The Gates Ajar became a national bestseller. In the 1870’s and 1880’s she wrote a series of novels with feminist and progressive themes.
Old Maid’s Paradise (1879), titled after the name of her cottage, and
Burglars in Paradise (1886) are light-hearted books based on living in Gloucester. “ Gloucester Harbor,” included in her poetry collection,
Songs of the Silent World, reflects Phelps’ feminist perspective.
