 Virginia
Terhune
Author
Mary Virginia Terhune was a
celebrated writer on domestic economy. Her pen
name “Marian Harland” was a household word
during her lifetime. She was known for her
charming combination of “home making” with
literary work. She possessed a masterful way of
making duties fit each other without fuss.
Mary was born on December 21,
1830 in Dennisville , Virginia , as Mary
Virginia Hawes. Though her parents were natives
of New England , she grew up in Amelia County
and was well educated by private tutors and by
using her father’s private library. While
pursuing her studies, Mary showed marked
literary ability. At fourteen years old she
began to contribute to a weekly paper in
Richmond , Virginia . At sixteen she wrote
“Marrying Through Prudential Motives”, which was
so popular that it was published in England and
translated into French and finally retranslated
into English and published again. Finally it
reappeared in the United States in its altered
form.
In 1856 Mary wed the Reverend
Edward Payson Terhune and they settled in Newark
, New Jersey . While taking care of her home and
her several children, as well as participating
in church activities, Mary continued to write.
She did not always write along home lines, but
wrote several novels including “Alone”, a tale
of Southern life and manners, “ “The Hidden
Path”, and “True as Steel”. From 1876 to 1878,
due to her ill health, she and Edward traveled
in Europe . They lived in Springfield ,
Massachusetts from 1878 - 1884 and Brooklyn ,
New York , from 1884, her husband being the
pastor of the Puritan Congregational Church in
Brooklyn .
From the publication of her book
“Common Sense in the Household” in 1871, Mary
enjoyed an almost separate career as a writer of
books on homemaking and related topic. She wrote
syndicated columns on women’s issues for the
Philadelphia North American and Chicago Tribune.
Mary also became widely known as
a lecturer before Woman’s Councils on “The
Kitchen as a Moral Agency”, “Our Sons and Our
Daughters”, and “How to Grow Old Gracefully”.
Mary Virginia Terhune died in New York City on
June 3, 1922 at the age of 91.
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