# Jean Webster

## Biography

Jean Webster, born Alice Jane Chandler Webster in Fredonia, New York, on July 24, 1876, was an American author renowned for her engaging novels, particularly for young women. She adopted her pen name while attending the Lady Jane Grey School. Coming from a family with strong activist roots—her great-grandmother worked on temperance and her grandmother on racial equality and women's suffrage—Webster herself became a lifelong advocate for social reform, including women's suffrage and improved institutional care for children. Her mother was a niece of Mark Twain, and her father was Twain's business manager.

Webster attended Vassar College, where her studies in English and economics, particularly welfare and penal reform, heavily influenced her writing. Her experiences there provided material for early works like "When Patty Went to College." Her most celebrated novel, "Daddy-Long-Legs" (1912), and its sequel, "Dear Enemy" (1914), featured vibrant female protagonists and subtly addressed social issues with humor and sharp dialogue. Webster passed away prematurely on June 11, 1916, at the age of 39, shortly after childbirth.

## Books

- [Daddy-Long-Legs](https://samolit.com/books/96330)