Margaret Murray Robertson (1823-1897) was born in Scotland but moved with her family to Vermont and then Quebec. She was a teacher and eventually quit teaching, which she loved, to write books that would educate and develop knowledgeable and moral youth. She is best known for "Christy Redfern's Troubles" (about 1864) and "Shenac's Work at Home" (1868). "Stephen Grattan's Faith" (about 1864) makes a strong statement against alcohol. She has written about 14 novels.

In Shenac's Work at Home, first published in 1866, we read of Shenac MacIvor, a Scottish-Canadian farm girl whose courage and determination allow her to save the family farm and to provide for her ailing mother and siblings after the untimely death of their debt-ridden father. The same Scotch spirit that animates Glengarry's annual festivales in Maxville and supports its unique historical museum in Williamstown endures in this and other novels of Margaret Murray Robertson. Through her story of Shenac, a valiant domestic heroine, Robertson fashions a compelling chronicle of family life in Canada's oldest and most distinctive Scottish-Canadian community.