The Scots novelist and historical writer Margaret Oliphant (1828 97) wrote over a hundred works ranging from domestic fiction, to historical and regional novels, to literary criticism. She remains famous for the 'Chronicles of Carlingford', which sketch the religious and domestic politics of a provincial community, and in particular for the most popular novel in the cycle, Miss Marjoribanks (1866). Published posthumously in 1899, Oliphant's autobiography brings together fragments written in 1860, 1864, and towards the end of her life, originally written for her sons. These texts were edited...