Mary Johnston was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 novelist and women's rights

Feminism

Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...

 advocate.

The daughter of an American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 soldier who became a successful lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

, Mary Johnston was born in the small town of Buchanan

Buchanan, Virginia

Buchanan is a town in Botetourt County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,233 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Buchanan is located at ....

, Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

. A small and frail girl, she was educated at home by family and tutors. She grew up with a love of books and was financially independent enough to devote herself to writing.

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

Thirteen Colonies

The Thirteen Colonies were English and later British colonies established on the Atlantic coast of North America between 1607 and 1733. They declared their independence in the American Revolution and formed the United States of America...

 times in Virginia as did her second novel To Have and to Hold

To Have and to Hold

-Screen adaptations:The book has been twice adapted to the screen. The first silent film in 1916 was made by Jesse L. Lasky’s Famous Players company. It was directed by George Melford and starred Wallace Reid and Mae Murray. In 1922, Lasky did a remake, this time starring Bert Lytell and Betty...

(1900) and 1904's Sir Mortimer. The Goddess of Reason (1907) uses the theme of the French Revolution

French Revolution

The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

 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 The Atlantic Monthly

The Atlantic Monthly

The Atlantic is an American magazine founded in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1857. It was created as a literary and cultural commentary magazine. It quickly achieved a national reputation, which it held for more than a century. It was important for recognizing and publishing new writers and poets,...

in 1899 and published in 1900

1900 in literature

The year 1900 in literature involved some significant new books and publications, as well as the deaths of several highly prominent writers, including among them the late Irish poet Oscar Wilde and the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche....

 by Houghton Mifflin

Houghton Mifflin

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is an educational and trade publisher in the United States. Headquartered in Boston's Back Bay, it publishes textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults.-History:The company was...

. The book proved enormously popular and according to the New York Times was the bestselling novel in the United States in 1900. Johnston's next work titled Audrey was the 5th bestselling book in the U.S. in 1902, as was Sir Mortimer in 1904. Beyond her native America, Johnston's novels were also very popular in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 and in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

Three of Johnston's books were adapted to film. Audrey was made into a silent film

Silent film

A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...

 of the same name in 1916 and her blockbuster work To Have and to Hold was made into a silent film in 1918 and again in 1922. Pioneers of the Old South was adapted to film in 1923 under the title Jamestown.

During her long career, in addition to twenty-three novels, Johnston wrote a number of short stories, one drama, and two long narrative poems. She used her fame to advocate women's rights, strongly supporting the women's suffrage

Women's suffrage

Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...

 movement.

Johnston died in 1936, at the age of 65, at her home in Warm Springs, Virginia

Warm Springs, Virginia

Warm Springs is a census-designated place in and the county seat of Bath County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2010 Census was 123. It lies along U.S. Route 220 near the center of the county.-History and geography:...

. She was interred in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond

Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...

.

Partial bibliography

• Prisoners of Hope (1898)
• To Have and to Hold
  To Have and to Hold
  -Screen adaptations:The book has been twice adapted to the screen. The first silent film in 1916 was made by Jesse L. Lasky’s Famous Players company. It was directed by George Melford and starred Wallace Reid and Mae Murray. In 1922, Lasky did a remake, this time starring Bert Lytell and Betty...
  
  (1900)
• Audrey (1902)
• Pioneers of the Old South (1903)
• Sir Mortimer (1904)
• The Goddess of Reason (1907)
• Lewis Rand (1908)
• The Long Roll (1911)
• Cease Firing (1912)
• Hagar (1913)
• The Witch (1914)
• The Fortunes of Garin (1915)
• 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)

External links

• Mary Johnston's story (plain text and HTML)
• Works by or about Mary Johnston at Internet Archive
  Internet Archive
  The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
  
   (scanned books original editions color illustrated)