Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman(October 31, 1852 - March 13, 1930) was a prominent 19th-century American author. She was born inRandolph, Massachusetts, and attendedMount Holyoke College(then, Mount Holyoke Female Seminary) inSouth Hadley, Massachusetts, for one year, from 1870-71. Freeman's parents were orthodox Congregationalists, causing her to have a very strict childhood.[1]Religious constraints play a key role in some of her works. She later finished her education at West Brattleboro Seminary. She passed the greater part of her life in Massachusetts andVermont. Freeman began writing stories...