Margaret Marshall Saunders facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Margaret Marshall Saunders
Born	May 13, 1861
Died	February 15, 1947
Occupation	Author, lecturer, activist
Genre	Children's literature, romance

Margaret Marshall Saunders (born May 13, 1861 – died February 15, 1947) was a Canadian author who wrote many stories for children and grown-ups. She also gave talks and was a strong supporter of animal rights. She was even given a special award called the CBE for her work! She was also an active member of the Local Council of Women of Halifax.

Early Life and Education

Margaret Marshall Saunders was born on April 13, 1861, in a small village called Milton, in Nova Scotia. She was one of four children. Her father, Reverend Edmund M. Saunders, was a Baptist minister. Margaret spent most of her childhood in Berwick, Nova Scotia.

When she was 15, Margaret traveled to Europe to study. She went to Edinburgh, Scotland, and Orleans, France. After her studies, she returned to Halifax, Canada. There, she took courses at Dalhousie University for a year. She then decided to become a freelance writer. To help her career in a world where most writers were men, she shortened her name to Marshall Saunders.

Beautiful Joe and Animal Advocacy

Margaret Marshall Saunders is most famous for her book Beautiful Joe. This book tells the true story of a dog from Meaford, Ontario. The dog was badly treated by his first owner when he was a puppy. But he was rescued by a kind family in Meaford. Later, this brave dog even saved their lives!

The story of Beautiful Joe is special because it's told from the dog's point of view. Many people compare it to another famous animal story, Black Beauty, which came out a few years earlier.

Winning a Prize and Worldwide Fame

In 1889, Saunders entered Beautiful Joe into a competition. It was called the American Humane Education Society Prize Competition. The contest was about how animals are treated, both kindly and cruelly. Her book won a prize of $200!

When Beautiful Joe was published in 1893, it became very popular around the world. It was the first Canadian book to sell over a million copies. By the late 1930s, it had sold more than seven million copies! The book was also translated into many languages, including Esperanto.

Margaret Saunders was very proud of her book. She once said that she had the honor of "leading the old Ontario dog around the world on a chain of translations." She was happy that Beautiful Joe helped spread the message of kindness to animals.

Other Works and Activism

After Beautiful Joe became a success, Saunders helped start the Nova Scotia branch of the Canadian Women's Press Club. She did this with another famous Canadian author, Lucy Maud Montgomery, who wrote Anne of Green Gables. Saunders later became the National Vice-President for the Maritime branches of the club.

Margaret Saunders wrote more than twenty other stories. Many of these books talked about important social issues. For example, she wrote about ending child labor, improving poor living areas, and making better playgrounds for children. She also wrote newspaper articles about these topics for papers like the Halifax Morning Chronicle and the Toronto Globe.

Saunders also gave many lectures and belonged to several groups that helped animals. She loved animals very much. Her house was always full of pets, and at one point, she had 28 canaries! She often named her pets after where she found them. She once had a pigeon named "38 Front Street" and a dog named "Johnny Doorstep."

Awards and Recognition

Margaret Marshall Saunders received an honorary Master of Arts degree from Acadia University in 1911. This was a special award to recognize her achievements.

In 1934, when she was 73 years old, Margaret received a very high honor. She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (C.B.E.). In the same year, she also received a medal from the Société protectrice des animaux in Paris, France, for her work with animals.

Death and Legacy

Margaret Marshall Saunders passed away in 1947 in Toronto, Ontario. She is buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto. In 1953, a special plaque was placed near her birthplace in Milton, Nova Scotia, to remember her. It was later moved to Tupper Park.

In 1994, the Beautiful Joe Heritage Society was created. This group celebrates the life and story of Beautiful Joe and Margaret Saunders' amazing work. There is also a park dedicated to Beautiful Joe in Meaford, Ontario, Canada.

Books by Margaret Marshall Saunders

• My Spanish Sailor (1889)
• Beautiful Joe (1893)
• Charles and His Lamb (1895)
• For the Other Boy's Sake, and Other Stories (1896)
• The House of Armour (1897)
• The King of the Park (1897)
• Deficient Saints (1899)
• For His Country (1900)
• Her Sailor (1900)
• Tilda Jane, An Orphan In Search of a Home (1901)
• Beautiful Joe's Paradise (1902)
• Nita, the Story of an Irish Setter (1904)
• The Story of Gravelys (1904)
• Princess Sukey; The Story of a Pigeon and Her Human Friends (1905)
• The Story of an Eskimo Dog (1906)
• My Pets (1908)
• Tilda Jane's Orphans (1909)
• The Girl from Vermont (1910)
• Boy, the Wandering Dog (1916)
• Golden Dicky (1919)
• Bonnie Prince Fetlar (1920)
• Jimmy Gold-Coast (1924)
• Esther de Warren (1927)