Pollyanna is a sentimental tale by Eleanor Hodgman Porter. Published in 1913, Pollyanna is a tale of an improbable heroine, a young girl whose glad game of always looking for and finding the bright side of things somehow restores hope to the hopeless. This is an 11-year-old orphan who comes to live under the care of her dour spinster aunt Polly in a Vermont town. The book gained enormous popularity and had reportedly sold over a million copies. The popularity was credited to the American readers eagerness for reassurance that rural virtues and cheerful optimism still existed. Many like this book for Porters skill in blending dashes of social conscience and ironic distance into the sentimentalism.
During the World War I years, Pollyanna took America by storm. It struck a nerve and was an immediate hit with children as well as adults, and its popularity endured throughout those years. The book inspired numerous related books and products and was translated into several foreign languages. It was first adapted to stage in 1916.

About the Author

Eleanor Hodgman Porter was an American novelist and creator of the Pollyanna series of books that generated a popular phenomenon. Initially, she studied singing and gained reputation as a singer. However, by 1901, Porter had abandoned music in favour of writing. Her stories began appearing in numerous popular magazines and newspapers, and in 1907 she published her first novel, Cross Currents. It was followed by The Turn of the Tide, The Story of Marco, Miss Billy, her first really successful book and Miss Billy’s Decision. The author’s other books include the best-sellers Just David, The Road to Understanding, Oh, Money! Money! Dawn, and Mary-Marie.
Many of Porter’s more than 200 stories were collected in Across the Years, The Tie That Binds. Books like Money, Love and Kate and Just Mother are published after her death. Pollyanna was followed by Pollyanna Grows Up.