Mrs. Spring Fragrance

Sui Sin Far (1865-1914) was a Chinese English writer known for writing stories on the experience of Chinese people in North America. Born in England to an English father and Chinese mother, she was raised as Edith Maude Eaton. The second of fourteen children, Far moved with her family to New York before returning to England in 1868. In 1872, they emigrated to Montreal, where the family struggled and Far was required to work to support her parents and siblings. At the age of 18, while working as a typesetter for the Montreal Star, Far began writing stories, articles, and poetry for local magazines. In 1896, she went to Jamaica, where she worked as a journalist before moving to San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle. Employed as a legal secretary, she began writing articles exploring her Chinese heritage and stories illuminating the experience of Chinese Americans suffering under the Chinese Exclusion Act. In 1912, she published Mrs. Spring Fragrance, a popular collection of short stories tracing the lives of Chinese families living on the American west coast.