Elsies Motherhood Author:Martha Finley Elsie's Motherhood Finley Martha Martha Finley was a 19th century American author of children's stories. Her characters were good children rewarded for their high moral character. She wrote Elsie Dinsmore in 1867. Elsie was a virtuous Christian girl who resisted small temptations. This book was enormously popular. Finley wrote 27 books about Els... more »ie taking her through her adult life and ending with her as a grandmother. This series was popular in the United States and in Britain selling over 25,000,000 books.« less