Eleanor H. Porter wrote mainly children's literature, adventure stories, and romance fiction. Her most famous novel is "Pollyanna" (1913), followed by a sequel, "Pollyanna Grows Up" (1915). Her adult novels include "The Turn of the Tide" (1908), "The Road to Understanding" (1917), "Oh Money! Money!" (1918), "Dawn" (1919), "Keith's Dark Tower" (1919), "Mary Marie" (1920) and "Sister Sue" (1921); her short-story collections include "Across the Years" (c. 1919), "Money, Love and Kate" (1923), and "Little Pardner" (1926). Porter achieved considerable commercial success: "Pollyanna" ranked eighth among best-selling novels in the United States during 1913, second during 1914, and fourth during 1915 (with 47
Village idiot Village idiot The village idiot in strict terms is a person locally known for ignorance or stupidity, but is also a common term for a stereotypically silly or nonsensical person or stock character. The term is also used as a stereotype of the mentally disabled. It has also been applied as an epithet for an unrealistically optimistic or naive individual. The village idiot was long considered an acceptable social role, a unique individual who was dependent yet contributed to the social fabric of his community. As early as Byzantine times, the "village idiot" was treated as an acceptable form of