Karaganda RURL

The American writer Eleanor Porter was born in 1868 in the state of New Hamshire in a family of descendants of the first British immigrants. Her father was a wealthy man and gave his daughter a good upbringing. E. Porter received musical education in singing. Later she entered the Boston Conservatory, but then she preferred literature to music. In the 90s of the XIX century. her stories begin to appear in American magazines, and in 1907 she publishes her first novel.

 During her writing career, Eleanor Porter has created four volumes of short stories and fourteen novels. Her novel "Miss Billy" was widely known. In 1913, the book Pollyanna was published and brought world fame to the author. The book immediately caused a real stir and it became obvious to everyone that this work will become a classic of children's literature.

Eleanor Porter is a contemporary of the great American writer Mark Twain who was her literary idol, and his famous character Tom Sawyer is a role model. Pollyanna, a girl with thin wheat pigtails, dreaming of “chic black curls”, was originally conceived as a “girl” analog of Tom; the same straw hat, the same freckles. Her aunt is also called Aunt Polly. These are all direct references to Mark Twain's books.

The story of the creation of the novel began with a series of stories for the Christian Herald about an orphan girl who “plays in joy”. The main character is an 11-year-old girl whose motto is “Rejoice under any circumstances”. An orphan finds only the good in everything and is always happy with her position. This affects others and often confuses them. But gradually the people around the girl begin to change for the better, learn to appreciate what they possess. Pollyanna's position in life is an example to follow.

The book topped the sales list for several years and was reprinted 47 times! By 1950, the total number of copies of "Pollyanna" exceeded two million. In Kazakhstan,Pollyanna became known only in the late 90s.

The story of Pollyanna has not lost its appeal to the reader today. Copies of the book constantly go out in large print runs in many countries of the world. This book is a source of positive for every day.

Several television series and films were shotbased on Pollyanna. The most famousones are the 1920 film adaptation with Mary Pickford in the lead role and the 1960 film adaptation of Disney, the leading role in which played Haley Mills.

Eleanor Porter passed away 100 years agobut the character she created continues to live and inspire joy and hope for people around the world.