ABSTRACT
IN NOVEMBER 1870 STODDARD ASKED EDMUND STEDMAN TO READ HER LATEST short story, “Collected by a Valetudinarian,” in the December issue of Harper’s. Stoddard believed this piece “good” and “unique.” “Collected by a Valetudinarian” tells the story of two old women who are spending the summer in an old New England seatown. One of the women shares with her friend the story of her talented niece, Alicia Raymond, a brilliant author whose career was cut short by her premature death. The two women pass the summer reading Alicia’s diary and manuscript and debate how best to preserve her literary legacy.
