Margaret Deland

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Margaret Deland

Margaret Deland (born February 23, 1857 in Allegheny , Pennsylvania as Margaretta Wade Campbell , † January 13, 1945 in Boston , Massachusetts ) was an American author of novels, short stories and poems.

Early years

Margaret Deland was born on February 23, 1857 to Sample Campbell and Margaretta Wade. Her mother died in her birth and she lost her father in early childhood. Therefore, she was raised by her aunt Lois Wade. At the age of eighteen she moved alone to New York City , where she studied art and design at Cooper Union College . She subsequently taught drawing and design at the Normal College of the City of New York until she married Lorin Fuller Deland on May 12, 1880 and moved with him to Boston, where she spent most of her subsequent life. Here she and her husband got involved socially by taking in 60 unmarried mothers into their home and trying to break this social taboo. To finance this venture, Deland first painted porcelain and then went on to write little poems for greeting cards. A friend sent some of her poems to Harper's Magazine , the March 1885 issue of which published The Succory .

Career as a writer

In 1886 Deland's first book The Old Garden and Other Verses was published by Houghton Mifflin . The book, published with a print run of 1,000, was sold out within a week. In 1899 it was published in its fifteenth edition. In addition to poetry, Deland devoted himself to other literary genres at an early age. John Ward, Preacher , Deland's first novel, was published in 1888, and the controversial story of the conflict between a Calvinist pastor and his Episcopal wife found high sales. Margaret Deland's income from book sales and her husband's financial success in the advertising industry gave the family financial security and they became respected members of Boston society.

Short stories were also among the works of Deland, especially Old Chester Tales (1899), a collection of short stories set in the fictional location of Old Chester , in which the contrast between the wishes of the individual and the well-being of the community is thematized. Often, different characters form different approaches to a problem within a story and thus illustrate the complexity of moral decisions.

Although Deland was never able to build on the success of earlier works, she received several prizes and awards . In 1926 she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters .

Margaret Deland died on January 13, 1945 at the age of 87 at the Sheraton Hotel in Boston.

Publications (selection)

  • 1886: The Old Garden and Other Verses
  • 1888: John Ward, Preacher
  • 1893: Mr. Tommy Dove, and other stories
  • 1903: Dr. Lavendar's People
  • 1904: The Common Way
  • 1908: RJ's Mother and some Other People
  • 1911: The Iron Woman
  • 1916: The Rising Tide
  • 1919: Small Things
  • 1922: The Vehement Flame
  • 1924: New Friends in Old Chester
  • 1926: The Kays
  • 1935: Old Chester Days
  • 1941: Golden Yesterdays

Prizes and awards

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Deland, Margaret
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wade Campbell, Margaretta (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American writer
DATE OF BIRTH February 23, 1857
PLACE OF BIRTH Allegheny, Pennsylvania
DATE OF DEATH January 13, 1945
Place of death Boston