Katharine Pearson Woods (1853-1923)
Katharine Pearson Woods was born in 1853 in Wheeling, Virginia (as the state was then known), the daughter of Alexander Quarrier Woods, a tobacco merchant, and Josephine Augusta McCabe Woods. Her parents promoted literature and education, which both proved significant influences on Woods’s works. In 1874, she joined the religious order All Saints Sisters of the Poor. Though she had to withdraw due to illness, this experience also influenced her writing. Woods published her first novel, Metzerott, Shoemaker, in 1889, based on the principles of Christian Socialism, which advocated economic reforms to benefit the working class. Anonymously published, this novel generated widespread curiosity about the author’s identity—which was soon revealed—providing Woods entrance to a successful career as a writer. Her other works include: Web of Gold (1890), From Dusk to Dawn (1892), John: A Tale of King Messiah (1896), The Son of Ingar (1897), and The True Story of Captain John Smith (1901).
Sources
Also see entry on Woods in Encyclopedia.com.