1922 Encyclopædia Britannica/Deland, Margaret Wade

DELAND, MARGARET WADE (1857-⁠), American writer, was born at Allegheny, Pa., Feb. 23 1857. She studied in private schools and at Cooper Union in New York, and for a time was a teacher of drawing. She lived in Boston after her marriage in 1880. She appeared as a writer of graceful verse in The Old Garden (1887), and in 1888 attracted wide attention with her first novel, John Ward — Preacher. This story resembles in theme Mrs. Humphry Ward's Robert Elsmere, at that time a centre of discussion. In all her works she deals with religious and social questions, and at first evoked protest in some quarters. Her method is perhaps best seen in Sidney (1891); Philip and His Wife (1894); The Awakening of Helena Richie (1906) and The Iron Woman (1911). Her numerous works include The Story of a Child (1892); Old Chester Tales (1899); Dr. Lavendar's People (1903 in Dr. Lavendar some have seen a character comparable with Goldsmith's Dr. Primrose); Partners (1913); The Rising Tide (1916); and The Promises of Alice (1919), the romance of a New England parsonage.