Ruth Erskine's Cross

Isabella Macdonald Alden was an American author who wrote under the pseudonym of Pansy. Throughout her life, Isabella Alden combined her writing and her religion. She did much work with Christian periodicals, writing serialized stories for the Herald and Presbyter from about 1870 until 1900; editing The Pansy, a Sunday juvenile, from 1874 to 1896; editing the Primary Quarterly and producing the primary-grade Sunday School lessons for the Westminster Teacher for 20 years; and working on the editorial staff of Trained Motherhood and The Christian Endeavor World. From 1865 to 1929, Alden authored about 100 books. Most of her works are didactic fiction heavily salted with religious principles, which concentrate on translating Biblical precepts into acceptable Christian behavior in a modern world. Several of her books, such as her most popular work Ester Ried, were based on personal experiences; others, such as the Chautauqua Girls series, were motivated by her interest in the Chautauqua movement. She and her niece, Grace Livingston Hill, even make a brief appearance in the final chapter of the series' last book, Four Mothers at Chatauqua. Alden's books were enormously popular during the late 19th century; in 1900, sales were estimated at around 100,000 copies annually. Some titles like Ester Ried, were translated into several languages, including French, German, Russian, and Japanese.