Margaret Horton Potter (

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

, Robert Dolly Williams; May 20, 1881 – December 22, 1911) was an American novelist, specializing in historical fiction. Her first novel, ''A Social Lion'', was published while she was still a teenager.

Early life

Potter was born in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

,Rossiter Johnson and John Howard Brown, eds.
''The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans''
(Biographical Society, 1904): 1903. the daughter of Orrin Woodard Potter (1836–1907), a wealthy steel manufacturer, and Ellen Owen Potter, who was active in women's clubs. She was educated at a local prep school and "pursued advanced studies under a private tutor".

Career

Potter was a teenager when R. R. Donnelley and Sons published her novel ''A Social Lion'' (1899), under the pseudonym Robert Dolly Williams. It features a wealthy Chicago writer who "lives in fear ... that a past alliance will be discovered and bring him social disgrace." Modeled on actual people and events in Chicago society, it was considered such a scandalous tale that her family tried (unsuccessfully) to prevent its publication. Her other novels include ''Uncanonized: A Romance of English Monachism'' (1900); ''The House of de Mailly: A Romance'' (1901); ''Istar of Babylon: A Phantasy'' (1902); ''The Castle of Twilight'' (1903); ''The Flame-Gatherers'' (1904); ''The Fire of Spring'' (1905); ''The Genius'' (1906); ''The Princess'' (1907); and ''The Golden Ladder'' (1908). Most of them are historical fiction, with romance plots and exotic settings for American readers, though ''A Social Lion'' and ''The Golden Ladder'' are set in Chicago.James A. Kaser
''The Chicago of Fiction: A Resource Guide''
(Scarecrow Press 2011): 290. There are fantasy elements in some of her novels, such as supernatural characters (the title character in ''Istar of Babylon'' is the goddess

Ishtar Inanna is the List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian goddess of war, love, and fertility. She is also associated with political power, divine law, sensuality, and procreation. Originally worshipped in Sumer, she was known by the Akk ...

) and the transmigrated souls in ''The Flame-Gatherers''. Potter also wrote short stories and poems that appeared in ''

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...

''. She and

Wallace Rice Wallace deGroot Cecil Rice (10 November 1859 – 15 December 1939) was an American lawyer, writer, and vexillographer. Based for most of his life in Chicago, Rice was a prolific writer and editor; however, he is most famous as the designer ...

co-wrote ''The Devil's Choice'', a play that was produced in Chicago in 1909.

Personal life

Potter married lawyer John Donald Black (son of John C. Black) on January 1, 1902. In about 1905, she became addicted to morphine. In May 1910 she was declared mentally incompetent due to chronic alcoholism and morphine addiction and institutionalized. After her release, her husband divorced her for "habitual drunkenness". She died from a morphine overdose, ruled accidental, in 1911, aged 30 years."Drug Kills Noted Novelist"
''The Gazette Times'', Pittsburgh (December 23, 1911): 10.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Potter, Margaret Horton 1881 births 1911 deaths Novelists from Chicago 20th-century American novelists American women novelists 20th-century American women writers 19th-century pseudonymous writers Pseudonymous women writers