Originally published in 1849, the aim and character of the work is described by the author in the following words: "However much of a biographical nature may be found in it, this was not intended as a biography, as some have conceived it to be. Its aim was educational. It was believed that such observations on maternal influence and domestic life as are here drawn from memory, presented in a narrative way, might be attractive and useful to mothers of young families; perhaps, also, to husbands and fathers."