1888. Phelps was the author of fifty-seven volumes of fiction, poetry and essays. A Singular Life is one of her best known works. Jack the Fisherman begins: Jack was a Fairharbor boy. This might be to say any of several things; but it is at least sure to say one, he was a fisherman, and the son of a fisherman. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.