Margaret Oliphant - The Open Door, and The Portrait: "All perfection is melancholy"

Margaret Oliphant Wilson's life was marked by both literary achievement and profound personal tragedy. Starting her writing career in her early twenties, she faced the loss of three children and her husband to tuberculosis, forcing her to support her family through her writing. Despite her prolific output and growing reputation, she endured further heartbreak with the deaths of her remaining children. Settling in Windsor, her health declined in her later years, and she passed away in 1897, leaving behind a legacy of resilience and literary contributions.