Eleanor H. Porter

Eleanor Hodgman Porter (1868–1920) was an American novelist, born in Littleton, New Hampshire. Trained as a singer at the New England Conservatory, she performed in churches and concerts before turning to fiction, publishing stories in magazines and then novels for girls, beginning with Cross Currents in 1907. Pollyanna, the story of an orphan who plays the glad game of finding something to be glad about in every misfortune, appeared in 1913, sold more than a million copies, inspired glad clubs and added a word to the language. She followed it with Pollyanna Grows Up, Just David and other novels, and other authors continued the series after her death.