Julia McNair Wright

Born in Oswego, New York, on May 1, 1840, Julia McNair Wright was educated in private schools and seminaries before beginning to publish while still young. In 1859, she married Rev. Dr. William James Wright, and over the course of her career she became a notably productive author.

Wright wrote across an unusually wide range of subjects. She produced temperance fiction, religious and controversial novels, books for children, domestic manuals, and accessible science writing. Among the works most often noted are The Complete Home and Almost a Nun, which reflect both the practical and strongly moral tone that ran through much of her writing.

She died in 1903. Today, she is remembered as one of those energetic 19th-century authors whose work tried to inform, instruct, and entertain everyday readers all at once.