Margaret Duley was born in 1894 in St. John's, Newfoundland and died in 1968. Her novels evoke the life of Newfoundland's coasts and are marked by strong female characters and, often, ghoulish humour. Duley is regarded as a precursor to modern ferminist writers. She received international recognition for her four novels, of which Cold Pastoral, first published in 1939, was the second.