Ogilvie is best known for writing a series of novels set on islands off the coast of Maine, where she lived as an adult.
[2] She was raised in Dorchester and Wollaston, and she graduated from North Quincy High School in 1934.
[2] She modeled the setting on Criehaven, the Maine island where she spent summers growing up.
She also wrote a series of novels set in Scotland, inspired by her Scottish descent and her travels there.
[4] In 1944, Ogilvie moved to a 33-acre (130,000 m2) farm on Gay Island in the town of Cushing, Maine.