Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
1901 novel by Alice Caldwell Hegan / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch is a 1901 novel by American author Alice Hegan Rice, about a southern family humorously coping with poverty. It was highly popular on its release,[1] and has been adapted to film several times. The early editions of the book carry the author's birth name, Alice Caldwell Hegan.
Author | Alice Hegan Rice |
---|---|
Cover artist | Florence Scovel Shinn |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | Fiction - Humerous sentiment |
Publisher | The Century Company |
Publication date | 1901 (US) |
Media type | |
Pages | 153 |
Rice was inspired to write the book during her "philanthropic work in a Louisville, Kentucky slum area, where she met an optimistic and cheerful woman" who was a model for the book's main character.[1]
The book is set in a white turn-of-the-century urban slum, with two somewhat wealthy individuals wanting to help the inhabitants. The title character is a widow with three daughters — whom she named after the continents, thinking that geographical names were refined — and two sons, the eldest of whom dies before the middle of the book.
As of 1997, the book had sold more than 650,000 copies in a hundred printings.[1]
Lovey Mary, a sequel by Rice, was published in 1903 and features many of the first book's characters.[2]