Mary Tappan Wright (1851–1916) was an American novelist[1][2] and short story writer best known for her acute characterizations and depictions of academic life.

[5] They lived successively in Hanover, New Hampshire, Baltimore, Maryland, and Cambridge, Massachusetts,[3][5][6][7][10][13] aside from one period during which John was a professor at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, when they resided in Greece.

"[14] Wright's first known published story was "How They Cured Him", which appeared in The Youth's Companion (March 24, 1887), one of several written for that periodical.

Her first novel, Aliens (1902), attracted much attention when it appeared for its portrait of contemporary northerners in the racially tense Southern town of Tallawara.

The next, The Test (1904), the story of a wronged young woman, received mixed reviews for what some perceived as its unpleasant subject matter and unsympathetic characters, though it was generally praised as well written.

Wright's previously uncollected short stories were issued in new collections by Fleabonnet Press from December, 2007-November 2008.