Maria Susanna Cummins
Maria Susanna Cummins (April 9, 1827 – October 1, 1866) was an American novelist. She authored the novel The Lamplighter (1854).
Also recorded as Author of The lamplighter and Mabel Vaughan, · Lamplighter, Author of The, · Maria Cummins
Maria Susanna Cummins

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- Name
- Maria Susanna Cummins
- Born
- 9 April 1827
- Birthplace
- Salem, Massachusetts
- Died
- 1 October 1866
- Place of death
- Dorchester, Massachusetts
- Occupation
- Novelist
- Nationality
- United States
- Fields
- creative and professional writing · girls' literature
- Known for
- The Lamplighter
- Languages
- English
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Maria Susanna Cummins (April 9, 1827 – October 1, 1866) was an American novelist. She authored the novel The Lamplighter (1854).
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wikidata · Q1960665 · wikipedia · Maria Susanna Cummins
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Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Maria Susanna Cummins • Born — 9 April 1827 • Birthplace — Salem, Massachusetts • Died — 1 October 1866 • Place of death — Dorchester, Massachusetts • Occupation — Novelist • Genre — Romance, girls' books • Notable Works — The Lamplighter (1854)
Biography
Biography
Maria Susanna Cummins was born in Salem, Massachusetts, on April 9, 1827. She was the daughter of David Cummins and Maria F. Kittredge, and was the eldest of four children. The Cummins family resided in the neighborhood of Dorchester in Boston, Massachusetts. Cummins' father encouraged her to become a writer at an early age. She studied at Mrs. Charles Sedgwick's Young Ladies School in Lenox, Massachusetts. In 1854, she published the novel The Lamplighter. One reviewer called it "one of the most original and natural narratives". Within eight weeks, it sold 40,000 copies and totaled 70,000 by the end of its first year in print. She wrote other books, including Mabel Vaughan (1857). Cummins died in Dorchester after a period of illness on October 1, 1866, aged 39.
Life and career
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Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1827
Maria Susanna Cummins was born on 1 January 1827.
1866
Maria Susanna Cummins died on 1 January 1866.
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Salem.
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Dorchester.
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reference work
- “Maria Susanna Cummins”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q1960665: Maria Susanna Cummins
General reference · Wikidata
Selected bibliography
• 1854: The Lamplighter • 1857: Mabel Vaughan • 1860: El Fureidis • 1864: A Talk About Guides • 1864: Haunted Hearts • 1865: Around Mull
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Maria Susanna Cummins's London Letters: April 1860 de Heidi L. M. Jacobs
- 2.Cummins, Maria Susanna - Introduction
- 3.Riegel, Robert Edgar. American Women: A Story of Social Change. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1970: 166.
- 4.Bell, Michael Davitt. "Women's Fiction and the Literary Marketplace in the 1850s", Culture, Genre, and Literary Vocation: Selected Essays on American Literature. University of Chicago Press, 2001: 141.
- 5.(3 Roberto 1866). Death of Miss Maria Cummins, The Author, The New York Times (reporting based on Boston Transcript story)
- 6.Notice n°: FRBNF30291050 de la Bibliothèque nationale de France
- 7.Notice n°FRBNF30291054 de la Bibliothèque nationale de France
- 8.Notice n°FRBNF30291049 de la Bibliothèque nationale de France
Bibliography printed in the source article · 2
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The authorities additionally record the headings Author of The lamplighter and Mabel Vaughan, Lamplighter, Author of The, and Maria Cummins.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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