Kate Douglas Wiggin

The Story of Waitstill Baxter Kate Douglas Wiggin

Published in 1913 by Kate Douglas Wiggin, The Story of Waitstill Baxter is intended for an adult audience. Famous for her children's books, most notably Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Kate Douglas Wiggin addresses serious social issues in this story. Waitstill Baxter, a young woman caring for a younger sister and an ogre like father, is a model of all the virtues. Her father, a mean spirited, hot-tempered man, had buried three wives, all of whom were described as glad to die to get out of his household. Despite these unpromising circumstances, Waitstill and her sister Patience grow into beautiful, innocent, and virtuous young women who are capable housekeepers and models of early twentieth century womanhood. Though they and another primary character, Ivory Boynton, face trials and tribulations, the story has a happy ending in which the virtuous triumph, and the wicked suffer.