The River's Children: An Idyl Of The Mississippi

by Ruth McEnery Stuart, Harry Edwards (Illustrator)

The River's An Idyl Of The Mississippi is a novel written by Ruth McEnery Stuart. The book takes place in the late 1800s and follows the lives of a group of children who live along the Mississippi River. The children, who come from different backgrounds, spend their days playing, exploring, and learning about the river and its surroundings.The story is told through the eyes of a young girl named Rist, who is the daughter of a riverboat captain. Rist and her friends, including a runaway slave named Mandy and a poor boy named Bud, have many adventures along the river. They encounter dangerous animals, experience floods and storms, and meet interesting characters along the way.The River's Children explores themes of friendship, family, and the beauty and power of nature. The book also touches on issues of race and class during the time period in which it is set. The novel is written in a poetic and descriptive style, capturing the essence of life along the Mississippi River.Overall, The River's Children is a heartwarming and engaging story that will appeal to readers of all ages. It offers a glimpse into a bygone era and celebrates the enduring spirit of childhood and the natural world.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

188 pages, Paperback

First published May 31, 2007

About the author

She was born Mary Routh McEnery Stuart, child of James and Mary Routh (Stirling) McEnery in Marksville, Louisiana. (She changed the spelling of her name to "Ruth" after she began her career in literature.) Stuart's true date of birth is not known with certainty.

Stuart first published in February 1888 in the New Princeton Review. She sold a second story to Harpers New Monthly Magazine shortly thereafter; in the early 1890s she moved to New York City. Stuart was active in her literary career from 1888 until 1917, producing some 75 works.Between 1891 and 1897 she produced "20 books, short stories, sketches, and reprinted verses she had originally published in magazines". She was known not just for her writing, but also for oral performances of her work. Her most famous work is said to be Sonny (1896). She was also occasionally a sub-editor at Harpers.

Stuart has been characterized as belonging to the school of "American local color writing that emphasizes regional characteristics in landscape, way of life, and language." Stuart's treatment of blacks forms a significant portion of her corpus and, if potentially troublesome today, "contemporary critics acclaimed her as providing an authentic representation of African Americans." Her work is said to be of the same school as Kate Chopin

Stuart's work was appreciated in England. She became a member of the Lyceum Club there in 1904. In 1915 she was granted an honorary Litt.D. in 1915 by Tulane University. Also in 1915 a literary club, Ruth McEnery Stuart Clan, was founded and named in her honor.

Stuart died in New York City in 1917 and was buried in New Orleans.