Margaret Thomson Janvier

Margaret Thomson Janvier (1844 – 1913) was an American poet and author of children's literature who published under the pseudonym Margaret Vandegrift.

Margaret Thomson Janvier
Born1844
New Orleans, Louisiana
Died1913
Moorestown, New Jersey
Pen nameMargaret Vandegrift
NationalityAmerican
GenrePoetry, children's literature
RelativesThomas Allibone Janvier (brother)

Biography

Janvier was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Francis de Haes Janvier and Emma (Newbold) Janvier.[1] Her brother was the writer Thomas Allibone Janvier.[2] She was initially educated at home and in the public school system before, in 1859, entering the Moravian Female Seminary in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.[3] She lived most of her adult life in Moorestown, New Jersey.[4]

Beginning around 1880, Janvier published collections of poetry, adventure novels, short stories, and fairy tales for young readers.[4] Many of her adventure tales featured plucky protagonists — often girls — overcoming difficulties ranging from financial destitution to the death of a parent.[4] Critics of the era praised her as "a most charming entertainer of children".[5] E. B. Bensell illustrated two of her books.

In addition to publishing stand-alone books, Janvier wrote for popular periodicals such as St. Nicholas Magazine, Harper's Young People, and Century Magazine.[4] One of her poems, "Little Wild Baby", which implied a mixed-race relationship between a white man and a woman of color, was rejected by major literary periodicals of its day.[6]

Selected publications
  • Clover Beach (1880)
  • Under the Dog Star (1881)
  • Holidays at Home (1882)
  • The Queen's Body Guard (1883)
  • The Absent-Minded Fairy, and Other Verses (1884, illustrated by E. B. Bensell)
  • Doris and Theodora (1884)
  • Little Bell and Other Stories (1884, illustrated by E. B. Bensell)
  • Rose Raymond's Wards (1885)
  • Ways and Means (1886)
  • The Dead Doll, and Other Verses (1888)
  • Little Helpers (1888)
  • Umbrellas to Mend (1905)
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References
  1. "Janvier, Margaret Thomson". The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, vol. 12, 1904, p. 460.
  2. Turner, Michael R. Victorian Parlour Poetry: An Annotated Anthology, p. 194.
  3. Smith, Jewel A. Music, Women, and Pianos in Antebellum Bethlehem, Pennsylvania: The Moravian Young Ladies' Seminary. Associated University Presse, 2008, p. 134.
  4. Schwartz, Helen J. "Janvier, Margaret Thompson". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved Aug. 18, 2017.
  5. "Contemporary Literature". The Universalist Quarterly and General Review, vol. 26 (January 1889), p. 114.
  6. Keetley, Dawn. "19th Century Women's Poetry: Margaret Thomson Janvier (1844-1913)". Society for the Study of American Women Writers, Lehigh University.
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