Lucretia Peabody Hale (September 2, 1820 – June 12, 1900[1]) was an American writer and editor, best known for her humorous The Peterkin Papers stories.

[2] Her father was the nephew of Revolutionary War hero Nathan Hale,[3] and was the owner and editor of the Boston Daily Advertiser.

[2] She was the elder sister of Edward Everett Hale, and occasionally co-write books and articles with him.

[1] Most modern readers know her for a series of humorous stories about the Peterkin family, published in leading children's magazines.

The first Peterkin story, "The Lady Who Put Salt in Her Coffee," was published in the April 1868 issue of Our Young Folks.