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Harriet Beecher Stowe was the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, one of the most famous works of fiction in the United States. She lived for much of her life near slaves, and did not believe in the institution of slavery. Her novel became famous in no time at all, and is still considered a fiction classic today. Harriet Beecher Stowe was born in Litchfield, Connecticut on June 14, 1811. She was the daughter of the famous Congregationalist minister Lymann Beecher. Harriet lived in Litchfield until 1832, when she went to teach at her sister’s school in Cincinnati. Here she worked for four years, all the while contributing her original sketches and stories to local magazines and journals. In 1836, the year she left her teaching career, Harriet married Calvin Ellis Stowe, a clergyman and seminary professor. In 1843, she published her first novel, The Mayflower, with the encouragement of her husband. Together they lived near a slave-holding community for nearly 18 years. Here Harriet learned about slavery and life in the south. Very often she met with and talked to fugitive slaves who told her of their experiences and the cruelty of slavery. Due to the compassion she felt for these slaves whom she lived near, she became