Margaret Oliphant
Victorian novelist (1828-1897)
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| Margaret Oliphant (1860's) |
Margaret Oliphant was born in Scotland
and lived there until she was 10 years old, then her family moved to
England. She spent time living in Scotland and England. She
contributed over 100 articles to Blackwood's Magazine, and
scholars are aware of 176 novels and stories written by her. She also
wrote some non-fiction, including an article about the Brontes,
travel books, historical and literary pieces and Scottish folklore
including a non fiction writing about Kellie Castle, ancestral
homeland of the Oliphant family.
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| Kellie Castle Ancestral Seat of the Oliphant Family, Fife, Scotland |
Three of her 6 children died in infancy
and her husband died of consumption (tuberculosis). She became a
widow with three children to support. She lost two of her sons in
their 30's and wrote about her feelings and the afterlife of her
beliefs interwoven in stories such as the five Little Pilgrim
Stories (1882-1888), and The Land of Suspense (1897)
written after the death of her son Cyril.
As a Victorian woman, Oliphant was not
a part of the stereotype of a fainting Victorian woman, in that she,
as a widow, supported her family, and was an author. Miss
Majorbanks which she
wrote in 1865 is considered a funny tale of a
Victorian woman that stands typical conventions on their head.
This small write-up is not intended to
be an in depth look at her life or her literary works, which are many
and worthy of praise, but she is remembered here as the author of
nine classic ghost stories: The Secret Chamber, A
Beleaguered City, Earthbound, The Open Door,
The Wizard's Son, The Lady's Walk, Old Lady
Mary, The Portrait, and The Library Window,
featured in the collection:
Stories of the
Seen and Unseen
(1881).
Quotes from The
Open Door and The
Portrait:
"This is not what I meant to say;
but you know the meaning better than I. Some one-who can speak to you
only by me- speaks to you by me; and I know that you understand."
"I stood for a moment looking
around me feebly, feeling myself begin to babble with stammering
lips, which was the alternative of shrieking, and which I seemed to
choose as a lesser evil."
"My heart sank into a stillness so
sudden that it made me faint. The light swam in my eyes; everything
went round with me. I kept upright only by my hold upon the chair."
For a more in depth look at Margaret
Oliphant and her works see: http://www.oliphantfiction.com/
Source for the wonderful picture of Margaret Oliphant in Victorian dress and for a short biographical sketch see:
http://www.costumecocktail.com/2016/10/18/margaret-oliphant-wilson-oliphant-1860s/
