Sarah Smith (1832 – 1911) [Pseud. Hesba Stretton] was an evangelical author of religious books for children. She was very popular in her day with her fourth book Jessica's First Prayer selling ten times more than Alice and Wonderland.¹

Smith was a regular contributor to Charles Dickens's Household Words and All the Year Round and was known for her stories of homeless children in urban settings. Her work provides a useful insight into Victorian attitudes to street children and the role that religion played in the lives of children.

The CCCU collection contains 43 of her novels as well as the research notes of novelist, Ann Purser, who has kindly donated the material to the university.

The book collection titles can be found on Library Search.

The collection was catalogued by student volunteer, Iva Sovcikova.

Collection in brief

Contents: novels, research notes, biographical information
Period: 19th-20th century
Subjects: children's literature, Religious Tract Society publications

Access to the collection is during core library hours, between 9.00-5.00 Monday to Friday. Please email library.canterbury@canterbury.ac.uk to order material in advance of your visit.

¹ Brian Alderson: "Tracts, Reward and Fairies: the Victorian contribution to children's literature". In: Essays in the History of Publishing..., ed. Asa Briggs (London: Longman, 1974), p. 268.