Margaret Marshall Saunders CBE (April 13, 1861 – February 15, 1947) was a prolific Canadian writer of children's stories and romance novels, a lecturer, and an animal welfare advocate. She was an active member of the Local Council of Women of Halifax.
Early life
Saunders was born April 13, 1861, in the village of Milton, Nova Scotia, one of four children born to Reverend Edmund M. and Maria (née Freeman) Saunders. She spent most of her childhood in Berwick, Nova Scotia, where her father was a Baptist minister. She studied in Edinburgh, Scotland, and Orleans, France, at the age of 15, before returning to Halifax, where she took courses at Dalhousie for a year prior to launching her career a freelance writer. It tells the true story of a dog from Meaford, Ontario, that had his ears and tail chopped off by an abusive owner as a puppy, but is rescued by a Meaford family whose lives he later saves.
Following the publication of Beautiful Joe, Saunders, along with author Lucy Maud Montgomery, founded the Nova Scotia branch of the Canadian Women's Press Club, going on to serve as the National Vice-President of the Maritime branches of the club.