Lydia Maria ChildA lively, relevant biography of Lydia Maria Child, one of nineteenth century Americas most courageous abolitionists. By 1830, Lydia Maria Child had established herself as something almost unheard of in the American nineteenth century: a beloved and self sufficient female author. Best known today for the immortal poem Over the River and Through the Wood, Child had become famous at an early age for spunky self help books and charming childrens stories.