The Revival of Ella Higginson
She was the most famous writer from the Pacific Northwest. Her writing was compared to many influential authors such as Jane Austen. She won many awards, had her writing set to music, and was very active in her community. Her love for the Pacific Northwest inspired many people to visit Washington, enamored by her rich, vivid writing of nature and its beauty. I have lived in Washington all my life and read classic literature. So why have I never heard about her?
During my senior year of university during the fall, I was eager to begin an English class about Ella Higginson. This class was taught by a favorite professor of mine, so I was very excited. I have never heard about Ella Higginson, and I had no knowledge of how influential she really was.
Ella Higginson was born in 1862, the youngest of six children. As a child, she was already writing stories. Much of her writing was published in magazines and newspapers when she was quite young. Her most famous poem is “Four-Leaf Clover,” and the clover symbol has always been associated with her. The Macmillan company would eventually reach out to her due to her reputation, and started to publish and bring even more attention to her work. Soon, much of her writing was in high demand. Most of her short stories and poems were set in the Pacific Northwest. The Pacific Northwest was rather unknown at the time, but because of Ella Higginson, people started to travel there due to her stories.
Ella Higginson wrote her only novel, “Mariella, Of Out-West,” which we read in class. I really enjoyed the novel, and I started to realize how much of an impact Ella Higginson had. I also had the chance to see her own fountain pen and initial drafts of her work during a class trip to the Archives. Ella Higginson was the reason why I started appreciating the sunrises in the morning, the crispy cold air during the rain, and the fog that settled among the Evergreen trees. I have always loved Washington, but now I love it even more.
Ella Higginson and her husband would move to Bellingham, Washington in 1888, where she would be unexpectedly widowed in 1909. Ella Higginson would live in Bellingham for the rest of her life in her house known as Clover Hill. She would dedicate herself to writing all day, devoting herself to her work and passion. Ella Higginson was also a big supporter for women’s rights. She never had children, but was very close to her niece Ivy. She was also very close to her own family, who were proud of her success. Despite her frail health, Ella Higginson remained cheerful, optimistic and hardworking, finding happiness in traveling, writing, and collecting antiques.
As World War I passed by, things began to change. Ella Higginson’s work was hardly in print, and her name started to fade into obscurity. People started favoring other authors, and Ella Higginson watched as people no longer remembered her name, or read her works anymore. Learning all of this was very heartbreaking. I could only imagine how Ella Higginson might have felt. All of her hard work was no longer being recognized or appreciated.
Ella Higginson quietly faced all of this with dignity. She wrote many letters, making it clear that it was influential publishing companies that reached out to her in the first place. She proudly stated that she was a writer, and a good one as well. She lived quietly in her beloved house, eventually dying in 1940. A little clover would be carved into her monument, the everlasting symbol of her legacy. However, she was already forgotten at this point. Many years would go by and nobody would ever talk or know anything about her.
Until now.
My English professor has devoted much of her time in recovering Ella Higginsons’s work, spreading awareness about her significant legacy, and bringing her work back into print. I was very amazed due to her hard work, and I admire her for it. My professor’s passion and enthusiasm in restoring Ella Higginson’s legacy is amazing. I did some research on my own, reading more about this wonderful woman who wrote honestly about her love for nature and life. I hope that one day, more people will know her name and read her stories. I also hope that “Mariella, Of Out-West” will be adapted into a film.
Ella Higginson has been ignored for decades, but she shall not be forgotten anymore. With her work slowly coming back, her legacy is being revived and one can only imagine how happy and grateful Ella Higginson would be.
