Margaret Deland (1857-1945) was a popular novelist at the turn of the twentieth century and a social reformer. Her twenty-five works of fiction were set both in historical and modern times and dealt with making ethical decisions in different settings. Although she considered herself a “new woman” determined to preserve her freedom of action, she did not support woman suffrage. Her charity was personal; she took young unwed mothers into her home until they could become self-supporting, believing that their love for their babies would provide an incentive.
