Critics called her books sentimental and foolish. But Mary J. Holmes wasn't afraid to tackle controversial topics. They included slavery and feminism in the 19th century.
The first line of Mary J. Holmes' final book, The Cromptons reads, “The streamer ‘Hatty’ which plied between Jacksonville and Enterprise was late, and the people who had come down from the Brock House to the landing had waited a half an hour before a puff of smoke in the distance told that she was coming.”
The first chapter, "A Stranger at the Brock House," begins a complex tale of love, family, and class divide in a real setting. The Brock House was a real hotel. In 1937, they razed it to make way for the Methodist Children's Home. The "Hatty" or "Hattie" and its captain are legends in Volusia County.
The steamboat “Hattie,” docked at the Brock House, Enterprise, FL
In 1851, Jacob Brock, a northern steamboat captain, traveled to Enterprise. He built a wharf on Lake Monroe. People saw him as a captain who had "a notable reputation for the lavish and original nature of his profanity." In 1851, he used slave labor to finish the Brock House hotel. Guests said the hotel, built in a northern style, could hold fifty people. The hotel became famous for attracting celebrities from all over the world, including Grover Cleveland, Ulysses S. Grant, Jay Gould, the Vanderbilts, John Rockefeller, and Gen. William Sherman. Brock ran the first regular steamboat service from Jacksonville to Palatka, then to Enterprise.
Stereograph of the Brock House. 1875.
Holmes's description of Enterprise is so realistic that she must have been there. She witnessed both the beauty and the cruelty of life on the St. Johns in antebellum Florida. The steamboat, "Hatty," in Holmes's novel was real. It was a steamship named for Captain Brock's daughter.
“'Oh, the river ! — the beautiful river!' she said. 'It brings things back, — the boat I went in ; not like that,'I and she pointed to a large, handsome steamboat lying at the wharf." - The Cromptons
But this isn’t about the history of Enterprise or the age of steamboats on the St. Johns River. It's about a novel, rich in Florida history and literary value. It's also about a writer, snubbed by critics for writing about things that white men didn't want to discuss.
Mary J. Holmes was born in Brookfield, Massachusetts, in 1825. Her family lived in a modest household. Her parents, Preston and Fanny Hawes, encouraged intellectual pursuits. She may have also received influence from her uncle, Rev. Joel Hawes, who was also a writer.
Mary J. Holmes — 1897
Holmes published her first story in a local newspaper when she was 15 years old. On August 9, 1849, she married Daniel Holmes, a Yale grad. They moved to Versailles, Kentucky. It inspired the rural settings in her novels.
The couple traveled a lot. They made Brockport, New York, their home. There, Daniel passed the bar and got into local politics while Mary wrote. They had no children. Their happy marriage was the model for many of the romances in her novels.
At the turn of the century, male critics often dismissed women writers. They called them sentimental or undervalued their work to protect their male peers. Holmes was a prolific writer. But critics ignored her work for its "happy endings and predictable characters."
The Cromptons follow three generations of Florida pioneers. They navigate class divide and slavery in Florida before and after the Civil War. It begins with Eudora, a southern "cracker" belle of Enterprise. Her rich northern lover abandoned her, too ashamed to acknowledge her. The freed slaves once owned by Eudora's family raise their daughter, Amy.
The Cromptons faced scathing criticism upon its release. They had come to prefer a more patronizing style in Holmes's work. One critic from the Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky) published this review in 1902:
“Mary J. Holmes is the author of more than thirty books, and for years has held the affection and admiration of a certain class of fiction readers. She writes love stories of no literary value, but they teach good lessons, where the good are always victorious over the wicked.”
Critics failed to acknowledge her passion for tackling controversial subjects. She often wrote about gender, race, class, slavery, and the Civil War with ease.
A New York Times critic labeled The Cromptons as inoffensive after summarizing the plot. He added that Holmes could never "stoop to the ignominy of a heroine who hadn't a 'flowerlike face,' or at least, 'beautiful, wistful eyes.'"
Holmes's main characters were usually poor women in unfair, dangerous situations. Then, using their wit and will, they would solve problems. They would create happy endings, often against convention.
Books by Mary J. Holmes
In spite of her poor treatment by critics, Holmes's books were popular. Her first book sold over 250,000 copies. She published 39 books in total, selling over two million copies in her lifetime. That was second only to Harriet Beecher Stowe.
Holmes's work has gained more notice from scholars. But it was my interest in Volusia County history that drew me to it. It may be 100 years late, but I would like to contest the initial reviews of The Cromptons. With so few opportunities for minorities and women, perhaps Holmes felt they were due a few happy endings. That with any luck, will outlive the petty remarks of her critics.
Sources:
The Crompton Family — A Critical Review published in The New York Times, Sept. 13th, 1902
Review of The Cromptons — The Courier-Journal, Louisville KY, Sept 6th, 1902
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