Virginia W. (Virginia Wales) Johnson

Born in Brooklyn on December 28, 1849, she was educated at home and began writing early. Reliable reference sources describe her as an American novelist, and note that after 1875 she lived in Florence, Italy, a setting that helped shape both her fiction and her travel books.

Her early work was mainly written for younger readers, including The Catskill Fairies, while later publications turned more toward adult fiction. She also wrote books of travel and place, such as Genoa the Superb and Two Quaint Republics, showing a strong interest in European history and culture.

Though not widely known today, her career was notably varied: she wrote novels, children's literature, and travel writing across the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. No suitable verified portrait image was confirmed from the sources I could access here, so none is included.