| Date | 25 June 1997 |
|---|---|
| Type | Blue Plaque |
| Subject | Person |
| Plaque | WESOC |
| Location | Oliphant House, Clarence Road, Windsor, SL4 5AE — View on Google Maps |
| Status | Current |
| Reference | PQ-0016 |
| Volume | Blue Plaques |
| Collection | Plaques |
Summary
| Name: | Margaret Oliphant |
| Born: | 1828 |
| Place: | Wallyford, near Musselburgh |
| Died: | 1897 |
| Profession: | Novelist and historical writer |
| Educated: | |
| Famous for: | Margaret Oliphant Oliphant (née Margaret Oliphant Wilson, 1828–1897) was a Scottish novelist and historical writer who produced more than 120 works, including novels, histories, travel books, and literary criticism. Daughter of Francis Wilson. In 1852, she married her cousin, Frank Wilson Oliphant, an artist specialising in stained glass, with whom she had six children, though only three survived infancy. After her husband’s death from consumption in Rome in 1859, she was left with limited resources and supported her family through her writing. Despite becoming a popular and industrious author, her life was marked by personal tragedy, including the death of her only surviving daughter in 1864 and the financial ruin of her brother, whose children she also took into her care. In 1866, she moved to Windsor to be near her two sons at Eton College, and there she lived for over thirty years, continuing her distinguished literary career until her death. |
| Windlesora: | Margaret Oliphant (1828 – 1897) by Hester Davenport in Windlesora 12 (1993) |
Images
Curator's References
Commemorative plaques on the RBWM website.
Margaret Oliphant, National Library of Scotland.