author
Margaret Wade Campbell Deland
1857–1945
Known for thoughtful, popular fiction about small-town American life, this late 19th- and early 20th-century writer often explored the pull between personal feeling, religious duty, and social change. Her books brought moral questions into everyday settings in a way that appealed to a wide readership.
11 Audiobooks
The Awakening of Helena Richie
by Margaret Wade Campbell Deland
Dr. Lavendar's People
by Margaret Wade Campbell Deland
The Wisdom of Fools
by Margaret Wade Campbell Deland
The Iron Woman
by Margaret Wade Campbell Deland
John Ward, Preacher
by Margaret Wade Campbell Deland
The Voice
by Margaret Wade Campbell Deland
The Vehement Flame
by Margaret Wade Campbell Deland
The Way to Peace
by Margaret Wade Campbell Deland
The Rising Tide
by Margaret Wade Campbell Deland
An Encore
by Margaret Wade Campbell Deland
An Old Chester Secret
by Margaret Wade Campbell Deland
About the author
Born Margaretta Wade Campbell in Pennsylvania in 1857, Margaret Deland became a successful American novelist, short story writer, and poet. She is especially associated with realistic fiction about village and family life, and many readers knew her through stories set in the fictional community of Old Chester, inspired by western Pennsylvania.
Her first novel, John Ward, Preacher (1888), drew attention for its serious treatment of religion and marriage. She went on to publish many novels and stories, including Old Chester Tales, Dr. Lavendar's People, and The Iron Woman. Her work often focused on conscience, affection, women's lives, and the tensions between tradition and modern ideas.
Deland lived much of her adult life in Boston and remained an active literary figure for decades. Beyond her writing, she was also remembered for her interest in social causes, and her long career left a strong record of how American domestic and moral life was imagined in her era.