1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:02,000 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class. It's a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:06,840 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hey everyone, I'm Eves and welcome to This 3 00:00:06,920 --> 00:00:10,480 Speaker 1: Day in History Class, a podcast that proves history happens 4 00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:13,680 Speaker 1: every single day. I think that that is abundantly clear 5 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:15,760 Speaker 1: right now to all of us that we are living 6 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:23,160 Speaker 1: in historically important and challenging times. But there are new 7 00:00:23,239 --> 00:00:25,680 Speaker 1: things that we can talk about every day that happened 8 00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:29,480 Speaker 1: in history, and hopefully at these episodes of This Day 9 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:32,960 Speaker 1: and History Class can bring a little something new to 10 00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:36,280 Speaker 1: every day for you. With that said, on with the show. 11 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:52,320 Speaker 1: Today is April four. The day was April four. Scottish 12 00:00:52,320 --> 00:00:57,080 Speaker 1: novelist and historical writer Margaret Olaphant was born. Over the 13 00:00:57,120 --> 00:01:01,240 Speaker 1: course of her life, Olaphant published nearly one hundred novels, 14 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:05,520 Speaker 1: more than fifty short stories, and mini biographies and articles. 15 00:01:06,880 --> 00:01:10,600 Speaker 1: Margaret was born in Wallyford, Scotland. Her parents were Margaret 16 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:14,400 Speaker 1: and Frances Wilson, and she grew up with two older brothers. 17 00:01:15,319 --> 00:01:18,839 Speaker 1: The family lived in Glasgow, Scotland for a while before 18 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:22,200 Speaker 1: they moved to Liverpool, England in eighteen thirty eight. Though 19 00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:25,119 Speaker 1: there is no record of Margaret having a formal education, 20 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:29,800 Speaker 1: she spent a lot of time reading, Though books, magazines 21 00:01:29,800 --> 00:01:33,839 Speaker 1: and newspapers kept her company, she lived a relatively secluded life. 22 00:01:34,800 --> 00:01:38,160 Speaker 1: Margaret began writing in her teens. In eighteen forty nine, 23 00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:41,800 Speaker 1: she published her first novel, Passages in the Life of 24 00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:45,600 Speaker 1: Mrs Margaret Maitland. The book was not a huge hit, 25 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:49,320 Speaker 1: but it did Gardner Oliphant some recognition in the British 26 00:01:49,360 --> 00:01:54,120 Speaker 1: literary world. In eighteen fifty one, she published a historical 27 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:58,320 Speaker 1: novel called Caleb Field, a Tale of the Puritans. From 28 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:03,160 Speaker 1: this point on she consistent published novels. In eighteen fifty two, 29 00:02:03,240 --> 00:02:07,560 Speaker 1: Margaret married her cousin, Francis Wilson Olaphant. This made her 30 00:02:07,560 --> 00:02:11,919 Speaker 1: full name Margaret Olaphant Wilson Oliphant, and she sometimes published 31 00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:16,760 Speaker 1: anonymously under the initials m O WO. Over the next 32 00:02:16,840 --> 00:02:20,920 Speaker 1: few years, Oliphant gave birth to several children, though some 33 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:24,520 Speaker 1: of them did not live past childhood. She also helped 34 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:28,600 Speaker 1: support her brother, Willie, who dealt with alcoholism. He helped 35 00:02:28,639 --> 00:02:33,880 Speaker 1: Margaret by assisting her in negotiations with publishers. Francis died 36 00:02:33,919 --> 00:02:37,560 Speaker 1: in eighteen fifty nine after getting to berculosis, leaving her 37 00:02:37,639 --> 00:02:40,200 Speaker 1: to take care of her children and other family members. 38 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:44,360 Speaker 1: Margaret was prolific, and she credited the amount that she 39 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:48,359 Speaker 1: wrote to how many people's lives depended on her success. 40 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:53,520 Speaker 1: Margaret contributed to Blackwood's Magazine, a publication popular among Victorian 41 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:58,720 Speaker 1: readers for several decades. She published stories, articles, essays, and 42 00:02:58,960 --> 00:03:02,760 Speaker 1: serialized no holes. With black Woods, she published some of 43 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:06,360 Speaker 1: her best known novels, The Chronicles of carling Ford, throughout 44 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:10,000 Speaker 1: the mid eighteen sixties in Blackwoods. The series followed the 45 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:12,720 Speaker 1: lives of people in the fictional English town of Carlingford. 46 00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:17,919 Speaker 1: Though these works boosted her reputation and she published incessantly 47 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:21,480 Speaker 1: until her death, she was criticized by some for producing 48 00:03:21,639 --> 00:03:27,040 Speaker 1: too much. Tragically, her eleven year old daughter Maggie died 49 00:03:27,080 --> 00:03:30,400 Speaker 1: in eighteen sixty four after getting the stomach flu, and 50 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:34,440 Speaker 1: in eighteen sixty eight her brother Frank went bankrupt, dying 51 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:38,520 Speaker 1: a few years later. Margaret was left to raise his children, 52 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:42,400 Speaker 1: and in her later years she turned to writing supernatural fiction, 53 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:45,800 Speaker 1: and her writing continued to provide her with financial support, 54 00:03:46,880 --> 00:03:50,320 Speaker 1: but in the eighteen nineties her two sons died, so 55 00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:53,280 Speaker 1: that she had outlived many of the people in her family. 56 00:03:54,440 --> 00:03:56,720 Speaker 1: At this point, she lost some of her desire to 57 00:03:56,760 --> 00:04:00,960 Speaker 1: write fiction. She turned to her autobiography, which she had 58 00:04:01,040 --> 00:04:04,960 Speaker 1: begun writing decades earlier. She planned on the work being 59 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:07,720 Speaker 1: published after her death, with the money made from it 60 00:04:07,800 --> 00:04:13,400 Speaker 1: going to her niece. Oliphant died in her autobiography was 61 00:04:13,440 --> 00:04:16,960 Speaker 1: published two years later. In the book, she noted that 62 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:20,440 Speaker 1: beyond needing the money, she wrote to cope with her sorrow. 63 00:04:21,560 --> 00:04:24,320 Speaker 1: The last project she worked on was a history of 64 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:28,719 Speaker 1: the Blackwood Publishing House, which was published posthumously. Though she 65 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:31,720 Speaker 1: didn't get a ton of recognition for being a literary 66 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:35,680 Speaker 1: writer during her lifetime, her work gained renewed interest in 67 00:04:35,720 --> 00:04:39,440 Speaker 1: the last decades of the twentieth century for its observations 68 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:43,760 Speaker 1: of Victorian society. I'm Eve Jeff Coote and hopefully you 69 00:04:43,839 --> 00:04:47,680 Speaker 1: know a little more about history today than you did yesterday. 70 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:49,640 Speaker 1: Be afraid to give us a shout or a share 71 00:04:49,640 --> 00:04:53,240 Speaker 1: on social media. We're at t d I h C 72 00:04:53,520 --> 00:04:57,080 Speaker 1: Podcast on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, and you can also 73 00:04:57,160 --> 00:05:00,200 Speaker 1: send us an email at this Day at I art 74 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:03,320 Speaker 1: media dot com. Hope you enjoyed the show and we'll 75 00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:10,360 Speaker 1: be back tomorrow with another episode. For more podcasts from 76 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:13,200 Speaker 1: I Heeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app Apple podcasts, 77 00:05:13,279 --> 00:05:14,919 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.