A fitting biography and tribute to "the female poet of the South" by her stepdaughter. — Margaret ("Maggie") Preston was connected with numerous luminaries in the Christian, military and literary worlds of the 19th century, as well as being an accomplished and influential scholar, poet and literary critic herself. — She was the eldest daughter of the famous Presbyterian minister, Rev. George Junkin, who moved South with his family to become president of Washington College in Lexington, Va.; there she remained until the last few years of her life. — Identifying with Southern values and ideals, her influence became worldwide through her poetry and correspondence. Her husband, Maj. J. T. L. Preston was a co-founder of Virginia Military Institute in Lexington and its first faculty member. During the War Between the States he served as Col. in the Confederate army and as Adjutant-General on the staff of "Stonewall" Jackson. — Jackson was a close personal friend to the Preston family. He was a teaching colleague with Mr. Preston, a fellow church member with them, and brother-in-law to Mrs. Preston, he being married to her younger sister. Few people ever knew the real Jackson better than his sister-in-law did. — She was also an intimate friend to the Robert E. Lee family during their years in Lexington. Knowing "Marse Robert" for the 5 years preceding his death, and being in continual contact with that family afterward was one of her highest honors. — As a poet, she was widely read among the English-speaking peoples of the world and counted many of the literary giants of the 19th century among her personal friends and regular correspondents. Though "Beechenbrook" was her most famous title, numerous poems on a variety of subjects flowed from her fertile mind and pen. — A large section of the book contains excerpts from her personal diary and correspondence during the Civil War years and provides primary source material for that period. But above all, it is clear that her Christian faith provided the foundation for all that she attempted in life; and it was the joy of her existence. The life of this remarkable lady was summarized by Prof. James A. Harrison of the University of Virginia when he described his friend as: "Woman, Poet, Saint."
![The Life and Letters of Margaret Junkin Preston [1903]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/2940012020055_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg)
![The Life and Letters of Margaret Junkin Preston [1903]](http://img.images-bn.com/static/redesign/srcs/images/grey-box.png?v11.5.5)
![The Life and Letters of Margaret Junkin Preston [1903]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/2940012020055_p0_v1_s600x595.jpg)
