Thompson Library Rare Books and Manuscripts Library,
The William Charvat Collection of American Literature
Call No. PS2698.R69 M4 1854 

"In presenting this little volume to the world, my heart sinks as I fear its judgement. For after all the changes of an eventful life, even with these white lines upon my temples, there yet lingers--but timidly now--the desire of my early days--I still wish to be beloved!" 

“Memories of a Grandmother by A Lady of Massachusetts [Mrs. A.M. Richards]”  is a 141-page autobiography. Dedicated to her family, the story of Richards' life recounts her struggles and triumphs: her childhood; her "successful marriage" to a physician; their move west and the subsequent dissatisfaction at rural life; their relocation to the West Indies; the death of her husband and the births and deaths of different children. The red binding of the book is common in gift books in the 1850s. It is a story of "giving ardor to virtue, or confidence to truth," punctuated with hymns and poetry, and she concludes the book with the hope that she might've given the reader a life exemplary enough to follow.