This being about the time of the outbreak of the American Civil War, it affected the subsequent development of her desire to improve the view the North had of the South in the latter half of the century.

She was the youngest of the three daughters of Allan Bowie Magruder, a prominent Virginia lawyer, and his wife, Sarah née Gilliam.

Her first important work, Across the Chasm (1885), was published anonymously in Ladies' Home Journal, and brought its author her first taste of the trials, as well as the glories of her craft and profession.

The story portrayed the mutual experiences and prejudices of a Southern girl who marries a Northern man, and is full of critical measurement of North and South.

The following description of her physical attributes appeared in Ladies Home Journal, "Miss Magruder is quite above medium height, and of slight but beautifully proportioned figure.