Five Little Peppers and How They Grew

About Margaret Sidney

Margaret Sidney (1844–1924) is the pseudonym of American author Harriett Mulford Stone. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, her family often traveled around rural New England, which provided material and inspiration for the young and creative Harriet's future stories and characters.

Sidney started her career writing short stories, the first being "Polly Pepper's Chicken Pie," which she submitted to the Boston children's magazine Wide Awake. The story was very popular, and readers asked for more, so the magazine's editor asked Sidney to do a twelve-part series on the Peppers. Sidney was now a household name, and her first novel, The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, was an instant success. The book's popularity led Sidney to write six sequels: The Five Little Peppers Midway, The Five Little Peppers Grown Up, The Stories Polly Pepper Told, The Five Little Peppers Abroad, The Five Little Peppers and Their Friends, and The Five Little Peppers in the Little Brown House.

In addition to her children's books, Sidney wrote poetry, fiction, and nonfiction for adults, including Old Concord: Her Highways and Byways and The Wayside: Home of Authors. Many of her articles were published in such magazines and newspapers as the Practical Housekeeper and the Christian Union.