Martha Ostenso

Martha Ostenso (17 September 1900 – 24 November 1963)[1] was a Norwegian American novelist[2] and screenwriter who is also an important figure in Canadian literary history.

Shortly thereafter Durkin left his wife and children and moved to New York City; Ostenso joined him there.

Martha Ostenso worked as a social worker in New York; she and Durkin were active in the literary circles of the time.

The book, about a young schoolteacher sent to teach in rural Manitoba, was hailed by critics, including in analysis by Faye Hammill, as a landmark in Canadian realism; it won the 1925 Dodd, Mead and Company Best Novel of the Year Award.

[2] Although none of her later novels ever reached the acclaim Wild Geese attracted, most continued to explore a similar theme: the relationship between men and women and the land they work.

The film industry lifestyle impacted Ostenso's and Durkin's health, as well as their productivity and the quality of their work.