 Margaret
E. Sangster
Author, and Editor of Harper's Bazaar
1838 - 1912
Margaret E. Sangster was an
author and editor whose life spanned the
mid-nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries.
Though she published both articles and books,
she is best known for her editorial work. While
she has been connected editorially with five
different publications, she is probably most
noted for her work as editor of Harper's Bazaar.
Born Margaret Munson on February
22, 1838 in New Rochelle, New York, she was born
into a deeply religious family. While she didn't
have many educational advantages, so far as
school life was concerned, Margaret had a
well-rounded education provided at home. She
undoubtedly had an inborn talent for writing and
literary work, yet she was also careful to
cultivate her talent as she matured. When she
was still quite young, Margaret became a
contributor to the leading periodicals of her
day, and her first work, "Little Janney", was
published in 1855 when she was only seventeen
years old. This story won her a commission to
write 100 juvenile stories to accompany a series
of drawings.
In 1858 Margaret married George
Sangster and gave up her writing career until
after his death in 1871. After her husband's
death, Margaret once again turned to writing and
contributed several pieces to the "Hearth and
Home". She soon became editor of that magazine's
children's page and then was assistant editor of
the magazine, a post she held until 1875.
While she edited "Hearth and
Home" Margaret still contributed articles to
other magazines, especially essays and letters
written for young girls on the Christian life.
Margaret felt a call to be a role model to girls
as a Christian leader. In 1875 she went on to
become editor of "Christian at Work" and stayed
with this position for six years. After this she
spent the next nine years as assistant editor of
the "Christian Intelligencer". For part of this
time she also editor of "Harper's Young People",
which was a new periodical. In 1889, Margaret
took on the job as editor of "Harper's Bazaar",
where she remained until the magazine failed in
1899.
Mrs. Sangster found time for a
sizable amount of miscellaneous work, and for
many years was ranked as one of the most popular
American poets. She published a Manual of
Missions of the Reformed Church in America, Home
Fairies and Heart Fairies, and a series of
Sunday School books. She also published numerous
other books including, "An Autobiography: From
My Youth Up; Personal Reminiscences" that was
published in 1909.
Margaret Sangster was a deeply
religious woman and a prominent member of the
Dutch Reformed Church and devoted much of her
time to her denomination. She was especially
fond of children and wrote many juvenile books.
In fact, two of her productions, Elizabeth, Age
Nine and Are the Children at Home were household
words and were in many of the school readers.
She wrote about a half dozen popular other books
for children.
Margaret Sangster was a devout,
cheerful, and sentimental woman, yet she was
also very practical and had much common sense.
She had many friends and many adoring fans. She
died on June 2, 1912 in South Orange, New
Jersey.
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