Check the bookshelves of your local Salvation Army, or browse through the stacks at the nearest antique store. Chances are you will find a book written by Mary Jane Holmes. Millions of Holmes’ books were sold during the 19th and early 20th centuries, and, because they were cherished by her fans, examples of them turn up frequently. The bindings on Holmes’ books tend to be super pretty, making them easy to spot. But, despite their striking cover designs, Holmes books are often in poor condition because they were read and reread, passed between friends, and passed down through generations. Your grandmother probably enjoyed several of them, and your great grandmother probably did too. Considering her popularity with generations of the past, it seems strange that most modern readers have never heard of Mary Jane Holmes.
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I don’t remember where I found my first copy of a Mary Jane Holmes book, but I have been collecting them since I was a teenager. My first probably turned up at a garage sale, priced at a quarter or fifty cents. Holmes’ books are especially easy to find in our neighborhood of New York State because Mary Jane and her husband, Daniel Holmes, lived in Brockport, just outside of Rochester. Upstate New York scenes are common in Holmes’ novels, as are scenes from Massachusetts and Kentucky – other areas of the United States in which she lived before settling in Brockport. |
| Reading Mary Janes Holmes feels a lot like reading a diet version of Jane Austen. Perhaps because her characters are American, or because her books were written half a century later, or because her work simply isn’t as sophisticated, Holmes’ books are more accessible. What they share with the great novels of Jane Austen is a nuanced view of women’s issues, together with a deal of wry, subtle humor. As you read your way through her stories, you will laugh and you will cry. Holmes was not above using excessive pathos in her writing, but, to her credit, she used it to highlight the personal impacts of critical 19th century social issues. |  |
Mary Jane omits her periods. "Yours Truly, Mary J Holmes, Brockport N. Y" |
Recently a friend and colleague, who knew I collected Mary Jane Holmes items, gifted me a number of books that were part of her elderly mother’s collection. Included with the books was Holmes’ framed signature, which has become my very favorite item in my collection. I came across my second favorite item a few years ago while sorting through some old documents purchased from a local estate. It’s a handwritten order from Daniel Holmes for some Finger Lakes wine made by Keuka Lake’s Urbana Wine Company. I love this little piece of paper because it merges my interest in the history of the Finger Lakes with my interest in Mary Jane Holmes. |
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I have seen Daniel Holmes’ signature elsewhere. The Bullis Collection, housed by the Macedon Public Library, has several books marked “Daniel Holmes, Brockport, NY” inside their front covers. How it was that the Bullis family of Macedon, NY acquired books from the Holmes estate is unknown. Regardless, the books in the Bullis Collection indicate that Mary J. and Daniel had an impressive personal library. (Here is a link to the Bullis Book Chronicles for more info on the entire collection: http://www.
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"Please send me (by cheapest way) two cases of your St. Ives Claret (quarts) with bill for same." |
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Mary Jane Holmes published 39 novels during her lifetime. She also wrote many short stories published in weekly serials. She is referred to as a “domestic novelist” or a “sentimental novelist-” terms with traditionally dismissive connotations, but which simply mean that Holmes was a female author who wrote about topics of interest to a primarily female audience. Modern scholars are beginning to give Holmes (and some of her contemporaries, such as E. D. E. N. Southworth) a fresh look, but, until lately, it has been pretty much impossible to find any thorough biographical or critical information on these popular authors of the 1800s. Despite being the second best selling female novelist of the 19th century (outdone only by Harriet Beecher Stowe and the wild success of Uncle Tom’s Cabin), Holmes’ writing was not considered important enough to warrant much attention. Critics have been put off by what Mary Noel summed up as, “artificial tragedies through which…heroines might suffer in patience and fortitude, as well as in anguish and tears.” Sensationalism acknowledged, this is an overly simplistic comment on Holmes’ work. While she may not have written a Moby Dick, Mary Jane Holmes at least deserves fair recognition as a 19th century cultural icon. |
To learn more about 19th century domestic novels and the women who wrote them, check out the 1956 publication by Helen Waite Papishvily, All the Happy Endings: A Study of the Domestic Novel in America, the Women who Wrote it, the Women who Read it in the Nineteenth Century. For decades, Papishvily’s book was the only serious publication readily available on the topic. It is a good starting point, although recent scholarship has added much needed dimension to the study of these historically overlooked women writers.
