Mary Cleland

Mary Cleland
Mary Cleland
Born	July 31, 1872
Died	April 2, 1937 ; St Andrews
Father	James Wells

Margaret "Margot" Barbour Wells (July 31, 1872 – April 2, 1937) was a Scottish novelist who used the pen name Mary Cleland. She was the author of urban realist novels set in Glasgow.

Mary Cleland was the daughter of the Rev. James Wells, D.D., minister of the Pollokshields West Free Church in Pollokshields, Glasgow.

Two of her novels cover the same period of time and share characters. In The Two Windows (1922), the waif Molly befriends Catherine, a middle class young woman. The Sure Traveller (1923) focuses on the ambitious and rebellious Catherine who wishes to attend Girton College, Cambridge against the wishes of her mother. Catherine laments "I know how it hurts to be baulked and thrust for life into a mould that isn't yours. A girl can't break away unless she has money of her own or training; and I have neither." Catherine fails to attend Cambridge but marries a childhood friend and they embrace rural Scottish life.

Mary Cleland died on 2 April 1937 in St Andrews.

Bibliography

The Silver Whistle. London: Heath Cranton, [1920]
The Two Windows. London: Hodder & Stoughton, [1922]
The Sure Traveller. London: Hodder & Stoughton, [1923]
The Forsaken Way. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1927.

References

1 2 3 4 5 Anderson, Carol; Christianson, Aileen, eds. (2000). Scottish women's fiction, 1920s to 1960s: journeys into being. East Linton, East Lothian: Tuckwell Press. ISBN 978-1-86232-082-6.
↑ Scotland, Pollokshields Church of. "Pollokshields West UF Church 1875-1925 - Pollokshields Church of Scotland". www.pollokshieldschurch.org.uk. Retrieved 2026-10-27.
1 2 "Scots Authoress", Edinburgh Evening News, Friday, 2 April 1937, page 11
↑ Gifford, Douglas; McMillan, Dorothy, eds. (1997). A history of Scottish women's writing. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-0742-6.
↑ Burgess, Moira (1999). The Glasgow novel : a complete guide. Internet Archive. Hamilton : Scottish Library Association and Glasgow City Council Cultural and Leisure Services. ISBN 978-0-900649-42-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)

[Tuckwell_Press1-1] 1 2 3 4 5 Anderson, Carol; Christianson, Aileen, eds. (2000). Scottish women's fiction, 1920s to 1960s: journeys into being. East Linton, East Lothian: Tuckwell Press. ISBN 978-1-86232-082-6.

[2] Scotland, Pollokshields Church of. "Pollokshields West UF Church 1875-1925 - Pollokshields Church of Scotland". www.pollokshieldschurch.org.uk. Retrieved 2026-10-27.

[Reference-1-3] 1 2 "Scots Authoress", Edinburgh Evening News, Friday, 2 April 1937, page 11

[4] Gifford, Douglas; McMillan, Dorothy, eds. (1997). A history of Scottish women's writing. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-0742-6.

[5] Burgess, Moira (1999). The Glasgow novel : a complete guide. Internet Archive. Hamilton : Scottish Library Association and Glasgow City Council Cultural and Leisure Services. ISBN 978-0-900649-42-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)

Mary Cleland

Bibliography

Further reading

References