She wrote, under the name of "Elizabeth Wetherell", thirty novels, many of which went into multiple editions. However, her first novel,
The Wide, Wide World (1850), was the most popular. It was translated into several other languages, including French, German, and Dutch. Other than ''
Uncle Tom's Cabin, it was perhaps the most widely circulated story of American authorship. Other works include Queechy
(1852), The Law and the Testimony
, (1853), The Hills of the Shatemuc
, (1856), The Old Helmet
(1863), and Melbourne House'' (1864). In the nineteenth century, critics admired the depictions of rural American life in her early novels. American reviewers also praised Warner's Christian and moral teachings, while London reviewers tended not to favor her didacticism. Early twentieth-century critics classified Warner's work as "sentimental" and thus lacking in literary value. In the later twentieth century, feminist critics rediscovered
The Wide, Wide World, discussing it as a quintessential domestic novel and focusing on analyzing its portrayal of gender dynamics. Some of her works were written jointly with her younger sister
Anna Bartlett Warner, who sometimes wrote under the pseudonym "Amy Lothrop". The Warner sisters also wrote children's Christian songs. Susan wrote "
Jesus Bids Us Shine" while Anna was author of the first verse of the well-known children's song "
Jesus Loves Me", which she wrote at Susan's request. Both sisters became devout Christians in the late 1830s. After their conversion, they became confirmed members of the Mercer Street Presbyterian church, although in later life, Warner became drawn into Methodist circles. The sisters also held Bible studies for the
West Point cadets. When they were on military duty, the cadets would sing "Jesus Loves Me." The popularity of the song was so great that upon Warner's death, she was buried in the West Point Cemetery. Susan Warner died in
Highland Falls,
New York and is buried in the
West Point Cemetery. ==List of works==