Maud Wilder Goodwin was an American author of historical fiction, biographies, and popular history. Maud Wilder was born in Ballston Spa, New York, as the daughter of John N. Wilder and Delia A. Wilder. Blanche, her older sister and fellow writer, married lawyer Frederick P. Bellamy, brother of writer Edward Bellamy. Goodwin's works were commercially successful and received generally positive reviews from critics. The Literary World described The Colonial Cavalier as "very gay and charming," and Dolly Madison as a "delightfully written, carefully gleaned biography". According to public opinion, White Aprons are "animated with fresh and engaging fascination. "There is nothing especially startling in her plot of her situations," wrote The Richmond Times-Dispatch regarding Richmond's novel, Four Roads to Paradise. "But she has endowed her characters with life and the ability to enjoy it; she has infused a strong dramatic element into her scenes; she has described her surroundings well, and she has given zest and animation to her conversations and dialogues."
