Margret Sidney 1844 - 1924She published nothing until 1878, at the age of 34, when she began sending short stories to Wide Awake, a children's magazine in Boston. Two of her stories, “Polly Pepper's Chicken Pie” and “Phronsie Pepper's New Shoes,” proved to be very popular with readers. Daniel Lothrop, the editor of the magazine, requested that Stone write more. The success of Harriett's short stories prompted her to write the now-famous “Five Little Peppers” series. This series was first published in 1881, the year that Stone married Daniel Lothrop. Daniel had founded the D. Lothrop Company of Boston, who published Harriett's books under her
pseudonym, Margaret Sidney. Harriett and Daniel may have both had an interest in history and in famous authors. In 1883, they purchased the house in which both Louisa May Alcott and Nathaniel Hawthorne had lived. Nicknamed The Wayside, the house is located in Concord, Massachusetts. The year after Harriett and Daniel moved into the house, Harriett gave birth to their daughter, Margaret, at the age of 40.
