Edith K. (Edith Kellogg) Dunton

Born in Rutland, Vermont, on December 28, 1875, she became known as the author of the popular Betty Wales series. She often published those books under the pseudonym Margaret Warde, creating stories that followed young women through college life at a fictional New England campus.

Her fiction stood out for its warm, engaging picture of student friendships, everyday challenges, and the growing independence of young women. For many readers, the Betty Wales novels offered both entertainment and a glimpse of changing opportunities for women in the early twentieth century.

She died on December 31, 1944. Though not as widely remembered today as some of her contemporaries, her books remain part of the long tradition of girls' school and college stories, and they still appeal to readers who enjoy classic coming-of-age fiction.