The Story of Rome

Mary MacGregor, born Mary Esther Miller on August 27, 1872, in the village of Rugby in Ontario, Canada, was a prolific author best known for her accessible retellings of history and legends for young readers. The daughter of a schoolteacher, she grew up in rural Ontario and worked as a teacher herself, including Sunday school instruction. In 1909 she married the Reverend Donald MacGregor, a Presbyterian minister, and the couple lived in various Ontario communities. Under her own name she specialized in children’s history books, producing engaging, narrative-driven works that introduced young audiences to ancient civilizations and classic tales.

MacGregor wrote numerous volumes in popular early 20th-century educational series such as Told to the Children and Children’s Heroes, including The Story of Greece, Stories from Dante, Stories of King Arthur’s Knights, and accounts of Rome, France, and other historical subjects. Many of these books were published by E. C. & T. C. Jack and remained in print for decades. She also wrote fiction under the pen name Marian Keith, with novels that often drew on pioneer life and small-town Ontario experiences. Her clear, storytelling style made complex subjects approachable for children while preserving a sense of wonder and moral insight. She died in Toronto on February 10, 1961, at the age of 88, leaving a legacy as one of Canada’s notable early authors of juvenile historical literature.