Johnston (1870-1936) was an American novelist and women's rights advocate from Virginia. She was one of America's best-selling authors during her writing career and had three silent films adapted from her novels. The daughter of a Civil War veteran, she was educated at home due to illness, growing up with a love of books, and was financially independent enough to devote herself to writing. Her historical fiction combined romance with facts and her 1913 novel Hagar, considered to be one of the first feminist novels and somewhat autobiographical, captures the early days of the quest for women's rights. This novel was first published in 1917.