Destined To Be A Writer

“So as the years draw on toward the Biblical limit, the inclination to look back, and to tell some sort of story of what one has seen, grows upon most of us.” – Mary Augusta Ward

A native of Australia, Ward seemed destined to put at least something down on paper, coming from a prominent family of both writers and educators.   Her husband was a writer and editor; her father a professor of literature; her uncle the famed poet Matthew Arnold; and her grandfather a school headmaster.   She also was related by marriage to the authors Thomas and Aldous Huxley.  

     Born on this date in 1851, Ward started writing for magazines in the 1870s and had her first books published in the 1880s.  By the early 1900s she was a bestselling author in England, Australia and the U.S.  Ultimately she published 26 novels, many dozens of essays, and 10 nonfiction books.  Among those were articles and 3 books commissioned by Theodore Roosevelt to provide Americans with a sympathetic view toward Britain during World War I.

An “influencer” before the term was popular, Ward also wrote about providing support and education for the poor stating that their improved education would ultimately benefit all of society.

A zealous diarist, she would share her recollections with fellow writers although she rarely, if ever, used them in her own works.  After her death in 1921 her complete diaries were published anonymously and to much acclaim.  But her identity as the author was not revealed until 2018.

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