Julia Ward Howe (1819–1910) was a poet and author best known for writing the lyrics to “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” in 1861. Howe first published her writings anonymously in 1853 and continued to advocate for abolition and women’s suffrage. After the Civil War, she focused her activities on women’s rights, establishing the Association of American Women and helping found the New England Women’s Club and the New England Woman Suffrage Association. Howe wrote this letter to novelist and poet Edgar Fawcett (1847–1904) in response to Fawcett sending her a volume of his poems. In response to his accompanying letter, Howe wrote that she appreciated Fawcett’s “humane thirst” when writing about “the woes of poor mothers in this city.”