Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811 — 1896) was an American abolitionist and a writer. She is best known for her novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin," which depicts the harsh conditions for enslaved African Americans. Following its remarkable success, the author made three tours to England and Europe, which inspired the two-volume set, "Sunny Memories in Foreign Lands." Both volumes are a series of letters, some written on the spot — some after the author's return home — of impressions as they arose, of her most agreeable visits to England, France, Switzerland, Germany, and Belgium during the first half of the nineteenth century.