"Moorcroft Hatch, or, Darkness and Light" by A.L.O.E., authoress of "Claremont tales," "Adopted son," Young pilgrim," "Giant-killer and sequel," etc., published by Henry Hoyt, Boston, 1864; illustrated.

Hard boards; original embossed cloth [some wear and small damages: see photos]; pocket size: 4" x 6"; "West Avon S.S. Library / No. 61" is written on the back endpaper, wood engraved frontispiece and extra title page with tissue guard, 212 pages, some soiling and wear, a few page corner folds, page# 204 looks like a small misprint in the lower corner [see photo], fair / good condition. See photos.

Charlotte Maria Tucker (1821-1893) was a prolific English writer and poet for children and adults, who wrote under the pseudonym A.L.O.E. (a Lady of England). Late in life she spent a period as a volunteer missionary in India, where she died.

The work of Charlotte Tucker as a children's writer was imbued with her Evangelical religious beliefs. Most of her stories were allegories with a clear moral, but she leavened her didacticism with a degree of realism and naturalism. As she explained in an 1851 letter to a publisher, "My position in life renders me independent of any exertions of my own; I pray but for God's blessing upon my attempts to instruct His lambs in the things which concern their everlasting welfare."

The proceeds from her writings she often devoted to missionary or charity work. Tucker's contemporaries criticized the strong didacticism in her writing, but her creed was concerned not with original sin but with the chance of improvement for all people. Her realistic portrayals of the poor may have drawn on her experience as a workhouse visitor in Marylebone.

US: Priority (c 2-4 days) ------ $12.50
Canada: 1st Class (c.2-7 weeks) ----- $28.50
World: 1st Class (c.2-10 weeks) ----- $42.50