Uncle Kosi-Kosa

In the novel «Uncle Kosi-Kosa» by American writer Jean Webster, the main character is a young girl, a ward of an orphanage; in her letters to her guardian, she tells about her life, dreams, sorrows, and joys, friendship, and love. The writer transferred much from her life to the pages of the book. The text of the repeatedly adapted novel is presented in a translation by Elena Belyakova. The book is adorned with amusing drawings by the writer herself, as well as illustrations by American artist John R. Neill, who illustrated the first books of Frank Baum about the magical land of Oz.
Jean Webster lived a short but bright life. The future writer was born in 1876 in a small American town, Fredonia. In the early most important years for any child, the girl was surrounded by women with quite progressive social views. Jean's grandmother fought for the rights of African Americans and for women's suffrage, while her great-grandmother was an advocate of sobriety. Annie, the girl’s mother, often discussed literary novelties with her husband Charles, who was involved in publishing the works of Mark Twain; Annie was distantly related to him. For several years, all the family members lived under one roof. As the future writer's father's business was initially doing well, he moved with his wife and daughter to New York, also acquiring a summer cottage on Long Island. Before Jean's eyes, the «American Dream» was coming true. It is not surprising that many of the heroines she created later occupied a very active independent position in life and had modern views. In 1897, Jean began attending the first higher educational institution for women opened in the USA - the college founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar. Special attention was paid to literature, economics, and sociology. The new life experiences were so vivid that Jean decided to write them down. Her literary attempts included small articles and poems published in student magazines. In 1901, Webster's first book — «Patty in College» was released. After that, Jean regularly published a book almost every year, but real success came to her only in 1912 after the publication of her novel about Judy Abbott, a modern Cinderella, a ward of the orphanage, and her mysterious tall patron, whose image merged in the main character’s mind with the idea of a grass spider. The last work of Webster, who passed away in 1916 from postpartum sepsis, was the novel «Dear Enemy».