Mary Johnston (November 21, 1870 – May 9, 1936) was an American

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire ...

and

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countri ...

advocate from Virginia. She was one of America's best selling authors during her writing career and had three silent films adapted from her novels. Johnston was also an active member of the

Equal Suffrage League of Virginia The Equal Suffrage League of Virginia was founded in 1909 in Richmond, Virginia. Like many similar organizations in other states, the league's goal was to secure voting rights for women. When the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratifie ...

, using her writing skills and notability to draw attention to the cause of

women's suffrage in Virginia Women's suffrage in Virginia was granted in 1920, with the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Nineteenth Amendment. The General Assembly, Virginia's governing legislative body, did not ratify the Nineteent ...

Early life

Mary Johnston was born in the small town of

Buchanan, Virginia Buchanan ( ) is a town in Botetourt County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,196 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was the western terminus of the James River and Kanawha Canal when const ...

, the eldest child of John William Johnston, an American Civil War veteran, and Elizabeth Dixon Alexander Johnston. Due to frequent illness, she was educated at home by family and tutors.Brooks, Clayton McClure, Samuel P. Menefee and Brendan Wolfe. ''Encyclopedia Virginia''. She grew up with a love of books and was financially independent enough to devote herself to writing. When Johnston was 16, her father's work with the Georgia Pacific Railroad caused the family to move to

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% f ...

. Shortly after the move, Johnston began attending the Atlanta Female Institute and College of Music in Atlanta, Georgia. She attended the school for three months; this was the only formal education Johnston would receive. After her mother's death in 1889, Johnston acted as her father's companion and as a surrogate mother for her five younger siblings. Johnston's family moved to New York 1892. They returned to Birmingham in 1896, and then moved to

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

in 1902.

Career

Audrey by mary johnston 1902 advertisement

Johnston wrote historical books and novels that often combined romance with history. Her first book, ''Prisoners of Hope'' (1898), dealt with

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

times in Virginia as did her second novel, '' To Have and to Hold'' (1900), and later, ''Sir Mortimer'' (1904). ''The Goddess of Reason'' (1907) uses the theme of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

, and in ''Lewis Rand'' (1908) the author portrayed political life at the dawn of the 19th century. ''To Have and to Hold'' was serialized in ''

The Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'' in 1899 and published in book form

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...

, by

Houghton Mifflin The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

. The book proved enormously popular and was the bestselling novel in the United States in 1900. Johnston's next work, titled ''Audrey'', was the fifth bestselling book in the U.S. in 1902, and ''Sir Mortimer'', serialized in '' Harper's Monthly'' magazine from November 1903 through April 1904, was published in 1904. Her best-selling 1911 novel on the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

, ''The Long Roll'', brought Johnston into open conflict with

Stonewall Jackson Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, considered one of the best-known Confederate commanders, after Robert E. Lee. He played a prominent role in nearl ...

's widow,

Mary Anna Jackson Mary Anna Morrison Jackson (July 21, 1831 – March 24, 1915) was the second wife, and subsequently widow, of Confederate Army general Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. She was widely known as the "Widow of the Confederacy" for the next 50 years. ...

. Beyond her native America, Johnston's novels were also very popular in Canada and in England. During her long career Johnston wrote, in addition to 23 novels, numerous short stories, two long

narrative poem Narrative poetry is a form of poetry that tells a story, often using the voices of both a narrator and characters; the entire story is usually written in metered verse. Narrative poems do not need rhyme. The poems that make up this genre may be ...

s, and one play. Her book titled ''Hagar'' (1913), considered to be one of the first feminist novels as well as somewhat autobiographical, captures the early days of women's rights. Johnston's deep focus on female suffrage in the United States is documented by her letters and correspondence with women working for the right to vote. But ''Hagar'' created a controversy among men and tradition-minded women, who were upset by the book's progressive ideas. Many refused to purchase it and subsequent Johnston novels. During her life, Johnston was close friends with '' Gone with the Wind'' author

Margaret Mitchell Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell (November 8, 1900 – August 16, 1949) was an American novelist and journalist. Mitchell wrote only one novel, published during her lifetime, the American Civil War-era novel '' Gone with the Wind'', for which she wo ...

, who once commented: "I hesitate to write about the South after having read Mary Johnston."

Film adaptations

Three of Johnston's books were adapted to film. ''Audrey'' was made into a 1916 silent film of the same name, and her blockbuster work ''To Have and to Hold'' was made into silent films both in 1916 and in 1922. ''Pioneers of the Old South'' was adapted as the film ' (1923).

Women's suffrage advocacy

Johnston was an early an active member of the Equal Suffrage League of Virginia (ESL), which was founded in November 1909 by other Richmond-area activists like

Lila Meade Valentine Lila Meade Valentine (born Lila Hardaway Meade; February 4, 1865 – July 14, 1921) was a Virginia education reformer, health-care advocate, and one of the main leaders of her state's participation in the woman's suffrage movement in the United S ...

Ellen Glasgow Ellen Anderson Gholson Glasgow (April 22, 1873 – November 21, 1945) was an American novelist who won the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1942 for her novel ''In This Our Life''. She published 20 novels, as well as short stories, to critical a ...

, and Kate Waller Barrett. She chaired the ESL's legislative and lecture committees and served as vice president from 1911 to 1914. On December 12, 1909, the ''

Richmond Times-Dispatch The ''Richmond Times-Dispatch'' (''RTD'' or ''TD'' for short) is the primary daily newspaper in Richmond, the capital of Virginia, and the primary newspaper of record for the state of Virginia. Circulation The ''Times-Dispatch'' has the second-h ...

'' published a pro-suffragist article written by Johnston entitled “The Status of Women.” The ESL would go on to reprint this article, along with another entitled "These Things Can Be Done" in ''Virginia Suffrage News'', a monthly paper created to increase communication among the suffrage leagues across the state of Virginia. Johnston's writings in support of women's suffrage also appeared in national publications, including the ''

Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'' and '' Woman's Journal and Suffrage News.'' In 1910, Johnston took elocution lessons to improve her public speaking skills. She would go on to deliver several speeches in support of women's suffrage. In January 1912, she addressed Virginia's General Assembly. In December of that year, she spoke at the governors' conference at its annual meeting in Richmond. She also spoke at the closing event of the woman suffrage parade of 1913 in Washington, D.C.

Death and legacy

In 1936, Johnston died of

Bright's disease Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that are described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine, and was frequently accompanied ...

at her home in

Warm Springs, Virginia Warm Springs is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the county seat of Bath County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2010 census was 123.

. She was 65 years old. Johnston was interred in Hollywood Cemetery in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...

Three Hills Three Hills is a town in southern Alberta, Canada. It takes its name from the three somewhat-larger-than-normal hills to its north. History Three Hills post office dates from 1904. Three Hills was incorporated as a village in 1912, the year ...

, her house at Warm Springs, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2013. Her Richmond home on Linden Row was listed in 1971. Johnston was honored by the

Library of Virginia The Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia, is the library agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It serves as the archival agency and the reference library for Virginia's seat of government. The Library moved into a new building in 1997 and ...

as part of its 2005 class of

Virginia Women in History Virginia Women in History was an annual program sponsored by the Library of Virginia that honored Virginia women, living and dead, for their contributions to their community, region, state, and nation. The program began in 2000 under the aegis of th ...

. Johnston's name is featured on the Wall of Honor on the

Virginia Women's Monument The Virginia Women's Monument is a state memorial in Richmond, Virginia commemorating the contributions of Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United ...

, located in Capitol Square in Richmond.

Selected works

''Prisoners of Hope''
(1898)
''By Order of the Company''
(1900) *'' To Have and to Hold'' (1900)
''Audrey''
(1902), illustrations by Frederick Coffay Yohn *''Pioneers of the Old South'' (1903)
''Sir Mortimer''
(1904), illustrator F. C. Yohn
''The Goddess of Reason''
(1907), a drama in five acts
''Lewis Rand''
(1908), illustrator F. C. Yohn
''The Long Roll''
(1911), with illustrations by

N. C. Wyeth Newell Convers Wyeth (October 22, 1882 – October 19, 1945), known as N. C. Wyeth, was an American painter and illustrator. He was the pupil of Howard Pyle and became one of America's most well-known illustrators. Wyeth created more than 3,000 ...

''Cease Firing''
(1912), illustrator N. C. Wyeth
''Hagar''
(1913)
''The Witch''
(1914), frontispiece in color by N. C. Wyeth
''The Fortunes of Garin''
(1915), frontispiece in color by Arthur I. Keller
''The Wanderers''
(1917) *''Foes'' (1918)
''Michael Forth''
(1919)
''Sweet Rocket''
(1920) *''Silver Cross'' (1921)
''1492''
(1922) *''The Great Valley'' (1926) *''The Exile'' (1927) *''Miss Delicia Allen'' (1932)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Mary 1870 births 1936 deaths 19th-century American novelists 19th-century American women writers 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers American historical novelists Women historical novelists Writers of historical fiction set in the early modern period People from Buchanan, Virginia American women's rights activists Burials at Hollywood Cemetery (Richmond, Virginia) People from Warm Springs, Virginia Novelists from Virginia American women novelists American suffragists Virginia suffrage