Margaret Sidney was the pseudonym of Harriett Mulford Stone (1844-1924). She was an American author, born in New Haven, Connecticut. In 1878, at the age of 34, she began sending short stories to Wide Awake, a childrens magazine in Boston. Two of her stories, Polly Peppers Chicken Pie and Phronsie Peppers New Shoes, proved to be very popular with readers. The success of Harrietts short stories prompted her to write the nowfamous Five Little Peppers series. This series was first published in 1881, the year that Stone married Daniel Lothrop. Daniel had founded the D. Lothrop Company of Boston, who published Harrietts books under her pseudonym, Margaret Sidney. Harriett eventually wrote over 30 books; in addition to the Five Little Peppers series she wrote a number of books on patriotic themes, including A Little Maid of Concord Town (1898) and A Little Maid of Boston (1910).