Sara Jane Lippincott, writing under the pseudonym Grace Greenwood, was a pioneering nineteenth-century American author, poet, journalist, and lecturer. Born in 1823, she established herself as a prominent voice in American letters and became one of the first women to gain access to the Congressional press galleries. Throughout her career, she leveraged her journalistic platform to advocate for significant social reforms, including women's rights.
Lippincott's literary output was diverse, spanning children's literature, travelogues, poetry, and biography. She achieved early success with her collected prose writings in Greenwood Leaves and her popular children's books, such as History of My Pets and Merrie England. Her extensive travels in Europe, where she lived for several years to improve her health and educate her daughter, inspired well-received travel volumes like Haps and Mishaps of a Tour in Europe. She also authored a biography of Queen Victoria in 1883.
Beyond her books, Lippincott was a prolific contributor and editor for numerous American and British periodicals, including Charles Dickens's journal All the Year Round. Based at various times in Washington, D.C., and New York, she was an active member of vibrant literary circles that included figures such as Edgar Allan Poe, Margaret Fuller, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Bayard Taylor. She died in 1904, leaving behind a legacy of pioneering journalism and advocacy.