Mary Johnston (1) (1870–1936)
Author of To Have and to Hold
For other authors named Mary Johnston, see the disambiguation page.
About the Author
Image credit: Author Mary Johnston with magazine
Series
Works by Mary Johnston
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1870-11-21
- Date of death
- 1936-05-09
- Gender
- female
- Education
- at home
- Occupations
- novelist
historical novelist
short story writer
women's rights activist - Short biography
- Mary Johnston was born in the small town of Buchanan, Virginia, the daughter of a Confederate veteran of the Civil War. She was educated at home by family and tutors. She began writing to help support herself and her family, and was active in the women's suffrage movement. The first of her 23 historical romance novels, Prisoners of Hope, appeared in 1898. Her second book, To Have and to Hold (1900), was serialized in the The Atlantic Monthly and became enormously popular. It was the bestselling novel in the USA that year, making her the first woman writer to top the bestseller list in the 20th century. To Have and to Hold was later adapted for the stage and was twice made into a silent film. The Long Roll, her 1911 novel on the Civil War, was also a leading bestseller. Her books were also very popular in Canada and the UK. She also wrote short stories, drama, and long narrative poems. In 1923, she published the influential short story "Nemesis," portraying the horrors of lynching. She died at age 65 of Bright's disease.
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Buchanan, Virginia, USA
- Places of residence
- Buchanan, Virginia, USA (birthplace)
Warm Springs, Virginia, USA (home: Three Hills) - Place of death
- Warm Springs, Virginia, USA
- Burial location
- Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- Virginia, USA
Members
Reviews
To Have and To Hold by Mary Johnson was a bestseller when it was published in 1900. And although the writing is rather dated, it is a story that I loved. I first discovered this book when I was in my teens and although I had forgotten most of it, I remembered enough to know it was a story set in the Virginia colony of Jamestown. This is a story rich in history and the author made good use of Jamestown’s colorful past, making references to both Pocahontas as well as the “Starving Times” show more of 1609 - 1610 when 80% of the colonists died. This story is set in the 1620’s and includes the March 22nd, 1622 Indian uprising that killed over 300 white settlers in outlying communities. Luckily Jamestown itself was warned in time to be ready for the attack.
First and foremost To Have and To Hold is the love story of Ralph Percy, a gentleman planter of Virginia and Lady Jocelyn Leigh, a ward of King James. When faced with being married to a man she hated, she disguised herself as a servant and sailed to the colony with a group of young women who were sent to Jamestown to be brides. Jocelyn and Ralph were married, but she told him her story and their marriage was in name only. Of course, they fall in love but in the meantime, Lord Carnal, her spurned suitor arrives and as he is a favorite of King James, he has the power to drag the couple back to England with Ralph in chains, to face the wrath of the King.
There are many adventures to read of here, from capture by Indians, to a short spell as pirates and swords are drawn more than a few times as Ralph, a truly decent man, fights to support his wife and their marriage. The one aspect of the book that I found a little lacking was that the character of Jocelyn remains undeveloped, we hear of her beauty, her bravery, her compassion, but she mostly appears in the background. She is the prize, the treasure that these two men are fighting for, but this does serve as a reminder of how women were viewed as chattels in these times.
To Have and To Hold was a captivating story written in rather flowery descriptive writing that took a little time to get used to, but was totally worth the effort. show less
First and foremost To Have and To Hold is the love story of Ralph Percy, a gentleman planter of Virginia and Lady Jocelyn Leigh, a ward of King James. When faced with being married to a man she hated, she disguised herself as a servant and sailed to the colony with a group of young women who were sent to Jamestown to be brides. Jocelyn and Ralph were married, but she told him her story and their marriage was in name only. Of course, they fall in love but in the meantime, Lord Carnal, her spurned suitor arrives and as he is a favorite of King James, he has the power to drag the couple back to England with Ralph in chains, to face the wrath of the King.
There are many adventures to read of here, from capture by Indians, to a short spell as pirates and swords are drawn more than a few times as Ralph, a truly decent man, fights to support his wife and their marriage. The one aspect of the book that I found a little lacking was that the character of Jocelyn remains undeveloped, we hear of her beauty, her bravery, her compassion, but she mostly appears in the background. She is the prize, the treasure that these two men are fighting for, but this does serve as a reminder of how women were viewed as chattels in these times.
To Have and To Hold was a captivating story written in rather flowery descriptive writing that took a little time to get used to, but was totally worth the effort. show less
The very definition of a plot driven book with pretty stickers for characters - Captain Ralph Percy, cadet of a cadet branch of a noble family a soldier come to Virginia, Lady Jocelyn Leigh who comes to Virginia disguised as a servant prospective bride fleeing Lord Carnal murderous favorite of King James I to whom she was promised. Escapes, duels, pirate adventures, captivity among the savage Indians, war with the Indians.
Our lovely Captain Ralph is an unapologetic slave owner and always show more refers to the rightful inhabitants of the land as savages - even the one he likes and respects and believes beating his dependents, always excepting his lady wife, is good for them. show less
Our lovely Captain Ralph is an unapologetic slave owner and always show more refers to the rightful inhabitants of the land as savages - even the one he likes and respects and believes beating his dependents, always excepting his lady wife, is good for them. show less
I found this bland and disappointing with the occasional engaging scene that stopped me from giving up.
The two main characters lack depth and sparkle, and the male lead has a very passive personality. The latter chapters proved particularly unsatisfying. When the end came, my reaction was, “Is that it?”
Much is spoiled by too much “telling” and not enough “showing”. Without giving away any specifics, a beloved child is murdered, but we don’t *feel* the parents’ grief. show more Instead, we’re told about it and the incident as passed over as if it’s just one of those things.
What irritated me most was the language. For example, “Forth from the ships’ sides put boats,” flows badly and reads nonsensically. The use of “forth” is common, clunky, and confusing: “When they were forth from the forest.”
This sort of thing bugged me too: “The higher mood returned, though slowly, slowly.”
I feel this had potential to be a very good read, but for the reasons noted above, that wasn’t my experience. show less
The two main characters lack depth and sparkle, and the male lead has a very passive personality. The latter chapters proved particularly unsatisfying. When the end came, my reaction was, “Is that it?”
Much is spoiled by too much “telling” and not enough “showing”. Without giving away any specifics, a beloved child is murdered, but we don’t *feel* the parents’ grief. show more Instead, we’re told about it and the incident as passed over as if it’s just one of those things.
What irritated me most was the language. For example, “Forth from the ships’ sides put boats,” flows badly and reads nonsensically. The use of “forth” is common, clunky, and confusing: “When they were forth from the forest.”
This sort of thing bugged me too: “The higher mood returned, though slowly, slowly.”
I feel this had potential to be a very good read, but for the reasons noted above, that wasn’t my experience. show less
"To Have and to Hold" is great historical fiction. There's a reason it was the best seller of 1900 and made into two films by 1922. This review, however, is for the 2006 Vision Forum version by Josh and Sarah Wean...that is, the business plan of taking a successful book from a long dead author and "editing" a few supposedly Christian themes into the storyline. Taking an old work and adding a twist is nothing new, but this Vision Forum edition is often marketed with little warning of the show more modifications, and it's listed with the original title and same author. From what I know about Mary Johnston, she would not be pleased with what they've done to her work. Here's another Christian theme: Thou shalt not steal. show less
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