Jean N. (Jean Newton) McIlwraith

Jean Newton McIlwraith was a Canadian author, journalist, and editor, born in Hamilton, Ontario, in late 1858 and died in Burlington, Ontario, in 1938. She was educated at the Wesleyan Ladies' College in Hamilton and also studied modern literature through a correspondence program with Queen Margaret College of the University of Glasgow.

She wrote in several forms, including novels, biography, children's books, and libretti. She is especially associated with historical romances set in Canada's past, with works such as The Curious Career of Roderick Campbell, A Diana of Quebec, and Kinsmen at War. She also collaborated with William McLennan on The Span o' Life.

McIlwraith's career reflects a wide literary life rather than a single famous title: she contributed to magazines, published across Canada, Britain, and the United States, and remained connected to Canadian history and culture through her writing. Today she is remembered as part of the tradition of early Canadian fiction, especially for stories that bring colonial-era settings to life.