Ruth Stuart

(1849–1917),

Louisiana author of local–color stories, which depict the characters of the South in postbellum times. Her sentimentality, optimism, and ability at dialect won her a wide popularity. Her collections include A Golden Wedding and Other Tales (1893), In Simpkinsville: Character Tales (1897), treating backcountry hill people of Arkansas; Napoleon Jackson: The Gentleman of the Plush Rocker (1902), about black people; and Aunt Amity's Silver Wedding, and Other Stories (1909). Sonny (1896) is a long story, told in monologues, about the poor whites of Arkansas.