At seventeen, she supported herself by her written work. She inherited a love for teaching, and began that employment in her father's house, then went with him to
St. Louis, Missouri where she taught in
Mary Institute, at a salary of per year, of which she was very proud. After, she taught
elocution at
Packer Collegiate Institute in
Brooklyn, so well that
Henry Ward Beecher said, "There used to be a few prize pumpkins here, but now each pupil is doing good work." At the same time she gave twenty lectures in
New York City each season upon such subjects as "Bachelor Authors," " Punch as a Reformer," "Literary Gossips," "Spinster Authors of England," and so forth. She lectured in public on literary history and allied subjects. Her lecturing career, which last for 20 years, began in the drawing room of her friend
Anne Lynch Botta. In its early days,
Smith College called her to teach English literature, and here she created the "Round Table Series of Literature," once published and used by many teachers. No one could go over this collection of complete and exact tables without knowing English letters correctly nor look at one diagram five minutes unprofitably. It showed marvellous power of concentration and "monumental drudgery." During her three years at Smith, Sanborn lectured in
Springfield, Massachusetts at
Anice Potter Terhune's home, and in many towns near the college. Leaving Smith, she went on a lecturing tour through the West, and met success everywhere. Returning, Sanborn began teaching in New York City, and also lecturing, first in
Edith Minturn Stokes's parlor, till, outgrowing it, she moved to rooms of the
Young Women's Christian Association, and finally to those in Dr.
Howard Crosby's church, speaking to large audiences there. This work was reported weekly in the
Tribune,
World,
Sun, and
Times. For several years, she reviewed books for the Club Room Department in
The Galaxy. Dr.
Josiah Gilbert Holland gave her the Bric-a-brac Department in ''
Scribner's Magazine'', and at this time, she met a class of married women at Mrs. Holland's every week, condensing and discussing new books. Meanwhile, she was an individual and potent factor in New York social and literary life. At
Mary Elizabeth Wilson Sherwood's—or in any place where wit and wisdom gathered—she was at home, unpretending, picturesque, humorous. Sanborn was the originator of Current Event classes in many of the literary clubs, which became common in many cities of the United States in the form of Current Topics classes. She wrote over 40 lectures, but among her best-known works were
Adopting an Abandoned Farm, and
Abandoning an Adopted Farm,
Witty Records of her original ideas regarding farming, which she put into practice upon an abandoned farm which she purchased near
Boston. Some of her other books were
Home Pictures of English Poets,
A Truthful Woman in Southern California,
Vanity and Insanity; Shadows of Genius,
Purple and Gold, ''Grandmother's Garden
, and My Literary Zoo''. She was instrumental in gathering and publishing a valuable historical work on
New Hampshire. In 1885, she published an anthology,
The Wit of Women, in response to an ongoing debate in literary circles as to whether women had a sense of humor. Although she initially had difficulty finding humorous writing by women as such works were hardly anthologized at the time, the book she finally put together was so successful that it was reprinted multiple times. Sanborn wrote reviews for the
National Magazine. She also edited calendars and holiday books. Calendars were her recreation. "Our Calendar" gave to each date a few lines from an American author. She also created "Cupid's," "Children's," "Sunshine," "Rainbow," "Starlight," and "Indian Summer" calendars. ==Personal life==