Margaret Oliphant was a Scottish novelist and critic whose vast literary output included domestic sagas, ghost stories, and historical fiction. Writing as "Mrs. Oliphant," she supported her family through serialized novels like Chronicles of Carlingford, which rivaled Trollope’s work. Her supernatural tales (e.g., A Beleaguered City) pioneered psychological horror. Despite financial struggles and personal tragedies, Oliphant became one of Victorian Britain’s most prolific female authors, offering sharp critiques of gender and class.