Seumas MacManus was a prolific Donegal-based author who published a number of books in the U.S., including Donegal Fairy Stories, In Chimney-Corners, The Donegal Wonder-Book, The Well o' the World's End, and A Lad of the O'Friels. He contributed stories to some of the leading magazines of his day, including Harper's and The Century. He was married to Anna Johnson, who, under the pen name Ethna Carbery, published two volumes of verse, The Passionate Heart and The Four Winds of Erin.