Margaret Oliphant Wilson was born on April 4th, 1828 to Francis W. Wilson, a clerk, and Margaret Oliphant, at Wallyford, near Musselburgh, East Lothian.

Her youth was spent in establishing a writing style and by 1849 she had her first novel published: Passages in the Life of Mrs. Margaret Maitland.

Two years later, in 1851 Caleb Field was published and also an invitation to contribute to Blackwood's Magazine; the beginning of a life time business relationship.

In May 1852, Margaret married her cousin, Frank Wilson Oliphant. Their marriage produced six children but, tragically, three died in infancy. When her husband developed signs of the dreaded consumption (tuberculosis) they moved to Florence, and then to Rome where, sadly, he died.

Margaret was naturally devastated but was also now left without support and only her income from writing to support the family. She returned to England and took up the burden of supporting her three remaining children by her literary activity.

Her incredible and prolific work rate increased both her commercial reputation and the size of her reading audience. Tragedy struck again in January 1864 when her only remaining daughter Maggie died.

In 1866 she settled at Windsor to be closer to her sons, who were being educated at near-by Eton School.

For more than thirty years she pursued a varied literary career but family life continued to bring problems. Cyril Francis, her eldest son, died in 1890. The younger son, Francis, who she nicknamed 'Cecco', died in 1894.

With the last of her children now lost to her, she had little further interest in life. Her health steadily and inexorably declined.

Margaret Oliphant Wilson Oliphant died at the age of 69 in Wimbledon on 20th June 1897. She is buried in Eton beside her sons.

• We started tracking this book on October 23, 2018.
• This book was £2.20 when we started tracking it.
• The price of this book has changed 120 times in the past 2,005 days.
• The current price of this book is £2.40 last checked 6 hours ago.
• This book is at its lowest price in the past 90 days.
• This lowest price this book has been offered at in the past six months is £2.29.
• This lowest price this book has been offered at in the past year is £2.11.
• The lowest price to date was £1.12 last reached on April 29, 2021.
• This book has been £1.12 one time since we started tracking it.
• The highest price to date was £2.40 last reached on August 1, 2023.
• This book has been £2.40 one time since we started tracking it.
• This book is currently at its highest price since we started tracking it.

• Literature & FictionLiterary Fiction
• Literature & FictionClassicsClassics
• Literature & FictionClassicsClassics

• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Disabled
• Print Length: 179 Pages
• File Size: 256 KB