Frances Little (November 22, 1863 – January 6, 1941) was the pseudonym of American author Fannie Caldwell. Her first and most successful book, ''The Lady of the Decoration'', was based on her experiences in

Hiroshima, Japan is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Hiroshima Prefecture has a population of 2,811,410 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 8,479 km² (3,274 sq mi). Hiroshima Prefecture borders Okayama Prefecture to the ...

, from 1902 to 1907.

Life

Fannie Caldwell was born in

Shelbyville, Kentucky Shelbyville is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Shelby County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 14,045 at the 2010 census. History Early history The town of Shelbyville was established in October 1792 at the first m ...

to Judge James Lafayette and Mary Lettia (Middleton) Caldwell on November 22, 1863.Kentucky. ''Vital Statistics Original Death Certificates – Microfilm (1911-1964)''. Microfilm rolls #7016130-7041803. Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort, Kentucky. Film 7020624:All Counties Fannie received an education from Science Hill Academy. Fannie and her husband, businessman James D. Macaulay, lived on South Fourth Street in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

. Before becoming a writer she was a kindergarten teacher in Louisville from 1899 to 1902, but after her divorce she traveled abroad and became the "supervisor of normal classes, kindergartens, at

, from 1902 to 1907." During her time in Japan, Caldwell wrote letters to her niece,

Alice Hegan Rice Alice Hegan Rice, also known as Alice Caldwell Hegan, (January 11, 1870 – February 10, 1942) was an American novelist. Her 1901 novel Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch became a play and four films. Biography Alice Caldwell Hegan was born on Ja ...

. Rice decided to turn the letters into a book, after removing any personal details. The resulting book '' The Lady of the Decoration'' was published in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

in 1906 and would be Caldwell's most successful work. Rice created the pseudonymous name of Frances Little by reversing Caldwell's nickname "Little Fan." The title was inspired by Caldwell's students, who called her their "Lady of the Decoration" every time that she "pinned on her little enameled watch." The book is set between 1901 and 1905, and is written in the form of letters home to a female friend or sister; it's not made clear. The main character is a young

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

in Hiroshima, Japan before and during the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

. She travels to

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, c ...

, Russia just before the outbreak of the

and makes a number of critical observations. At the beginning of the 20th century, most Americans knew very little of Japan, and Caldwell's novel presented a view of Japanese life that captured the imagination of the reading public, who made it the number 1 bestselling novel in the United States for 1907. Caldwell rode the wave of American interest and support for Japan in the Russo-Japanese War, and supported the Japanese cause throughout. Caldwell eventually returned to Kentucky, where she lectured on Japan and continued to write books after the success of ''The Lady of the Decoration.'' On January 6, 1941, Fannie passed away due to influenza at the Jewish Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky. She was buried in

Cave Hill Cemetery Cave Hill Cemetery is a Victorian era National Cemetery and arboretum located at Louisville, Kentucky. Its main entrance is on Baxter Avenue and there is a secondary one on Grinstead Drive. It is the largest cemetery by area and number of buri ...

in Louisville. In December 2005,

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital libr ...

published the short story "Mr. Bamboo and the Honorable Little God, A Christmas Story" under Caldwell's married name of Fannie C. Macaulay.

Bibliography

*''The Lady of the Decoration'' (1906) *''Little Sister Snow'' (1909) *''The Lady and Sada San'' (1912) *''Camp Jolly'' (1917) *''House of the Misty Star'' (1915) *''Jack and I in Lotus Land'' (1922) *''Early American textiles'' (1931)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Little, Frances 1863 births 1941 deaths 20th-century American novelists American women novelists Burials at Cave Hill Cemetery Writers from Louisville, Kentucky 20th-century American women writers Novelists from Kentucky