The columnist Sara Willis, who wrote under the pen name Fanny Fern, achieved a remarkable level of popularity and success over the course of her career. By the mid-1850s, she was the highest-paid newspaper columnist in the United States, earning $100 per essay. This collection of her columns was one of the best-selling books of the era. The pieces collected highlight the sly humor and breezy, conversational style that led to Fern's widespread fame.