Mary Johnston was born on 21st November 1870 in the small town of Buchanan, Virginia, the eldest child of John and Elizabeth Johnston. During her childhood she was subject to frequent bouts of illness and therefore educated at home with the help of tutors.

When she was 16, her father’s work with the Georgia Pacific Railroad meant a move to Birmingham, Alabama. Johnston then attended the Atlanta Female Institute and College of Music in Atlanta, Georgia for three months. This was the only formal education Johnston would receive.

Her mother died in 1889 and she thereafter acted as both her father’s companion and as a surrogate mother for her five younger siblings.

Johnston wrote historical books and novels that combined romance with history. Her first book, Prisoners of Hope (1898), dealt with colonial times in Virginia as did her second novel, To Have and to Hold was the best-selling novel of 1900 in the United States. During her long career she wrote across many themes in her 23 novels. She also wrote numerous short stories, two long narrative poems, and one play.

Her 1913 novel ‘Hagar’ is considered one of the first feminist novels and semi-biographical as it captures the early days of women’s rights and her work fighting for women’s rights, often at lost commercial opportunities.

Johnston was an early an active member of the Equal Suffrage League of Virginia, which was founded in 1909 by other Richmond-area activists. She chaired it’s legislative and lecture committees and served as vice president from 1911 to 1914. Her writings on women’s suffrage also appeared in nationally including the Atlantic Monthly.

Mary Johnston died of Bright’s disease at her home in Warm Springs, Virginia on 9th May 1936. She was 65 years old and was buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond.