Mary Greenway McClelland (August 5, 1853 – August 2, ) was an American novelist who wrote under the name M. G. McClelland.
Mary Greenway McClelland was born on August 5, 1853, in
Norwood, a small village in
Nelson County, Virginia
Nelson County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,775. Its county seat is Lovingston. Nelson County is part of the Charlottesville, VA Metropolitan Statistic ...
.
She was the daughter of Thomas Stanhope McClelland, a prominent lawyer, and Maria Louisa Graf, the daughter of a German-born
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
merchant. When she was young, her parents moved to Elm Cottage, an isolated home in
Buckingham County, Virginia
Buckingham County is a rural United States county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and containing the geographic center of the state. Buckingham County is part of the Piedmont region of Virginia, and the county seat is Buckingham.
B ...
where she spent the rest of her life.
Her first publication was ''Ole Ike's Memories'' (1884), a 16-page collection of poems in African-American dialect. She went on to publish many novels, mostly through publisher
Henry Holt and Co.
Henry Holt and Company is an American book-publishing company based in New York City. One of the oldest publishers in the United States, it was founded in 1866 by Henry Holt (publisher), Henry Holt and Frederick Leypoldt. Currently, the company p ...
She published in magazines including ''
Lippincott's Monthly,
Youth's Companion
''The Youth's Companion'' (1827–1929), known in later years as simply ''The Companion—For All the Family'', was an American children's magazine that existed for over one hundred years until it finally merged with ''The American Boy'' in 1929. ...
,'' and ''
Harper's Monthly.'' She also served on the editorial staff of ''
Peterson's Magazine
''Peterson's Magazine'' (1842–1898) was an American magazine focused on women. It was published monthly and based in Philadelphia.
In 1842, Charles Jacobs Peterson and George Rex Graham, partners in the '' Saturday Evening Post'', agreed ...
.
''
Her novels have attracted little critical notice after the 19th century. Several authors have taken note of the love triangle in ''Broadoaks,'' where a Northern and a Southern man compete for the affections of the same woman. Cratis D. Williams criticized the portrayal of Southern mountaineers in three of her novels, writing that "her interpretations lack the ring of authenticity. Her knowledge of her subjects had been gathered from frontier fiction, magazine stories, and hearsay."
She died of
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
at Elm Cottage on August 2, 1895.
Bibliography
* ''Oblivion'' (1885)
* ''Princess'' (1886)
* ''Jean Monteith'' (1887)
* ''A Self-Made Man'' (1887)
* ''Madame Silva''
lso ''The Ghost of Dred Power''(1888),
* ''Burkett's Lock'' (1889)
* ''Eleanor Gwynn'' (1890)
* ''The Bite That Kills'' (1891)
* ''A Nameless Novel'' (1891)
* ''Manitou Island'' (1892)
* ''Broadoaks'' (1893)
* ''The Old Post-Road'' (1894)
* ''Mammy Mystic'' (1895)
* ''St. John's Wooing'' (1895)
* ''Sam'' (1906)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:McClelland, Mary
Created via preloaddraft
1853 births
1895 deaths
American women writers