Thursday, November 22, 2012

A Thanksgiving Triptych

"More Turkey", from "Thanksgiving in the Country", Scribner's, December 1871
In a different world this would be a more elaborate post - or, since we're making believe, a whole series of posts - on Thanksgiving in nineteenth century literature, with an emphasis on sentimental and local-color writing and, in particular, the work of Rose Terry Cooke, who seems to have had a particular fondness for the holiday. But hey, time flies! So instead, for your enjoyment, and without further comment, here's a triptych of Thanksgiving stories by prominent Gilded Age women writers that fit that description:
  1. Louisa May Alcott, "An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving", from Aunt Jo's Scrap-Bag, Volume 6 (1882).
  2. Harriet Prescott Spofford, "A Thanksgiving Breakfast", Harper's New Monthly Magazine (December 1895).
  3. Rose Terry Cooke, "How Celia Changed Her Mind", from Huckleberries Gathered from New England Hills (1891) (and make sure to check out the table of contents - two other stories with Thanksgiving in the title!).
If you're after some more context for these nineteenth-century Thanksgiving stories, this History Kitchen post comes recommended.