Mary Mapes Dodge's Hans Brinker, or the…

Mary Mapes Dodge's Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates, which becomes an instant bestseller.

The novel takes place in the Netherlands, and is a colorful fictional portrait of early nineteenth-century Dutch life, as well as a tale of youthful honor.

The title of the book refers to the beautiful silver skates to be awarded to winner of the ice-skating race Hans Brinker hopes to enter.

The novel introduces the sport of Dutch speed skating to Americans, and in U.S. media, Hans Brinker is still considered the prototypical speed skater.

The book is also notable for popularizing the story of the little Dutch boy who plugs a dike with his finger.

Dodge, born Mary Elizabeth Mapes to Professor James Jay Mapes and Sophia Furman in New York City, had acquired a good education under private tutors.

In 1851, she had married the lawyer William Dodge.

Within the next four years, she gave birth to two sons, James and Harrington.

In 1857, William faced serious financial difficulties and left his family in 1858.

A month after his disappearance his body was found dead from an apparent drowning, and Mary Mapes Dodge became a widow.

In 1859, she had begun writing and editing, working with her father to publish two magazines, the Working Farmer and the United States Journal.

Within a few years, she had had great success with a collection of short stories, The Irvington Stories (1864), and a novel was solicited.