 Her novels met with mixed acclaim and are rarely read today.In 2016, she was named a National Historic Person on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.Born Sarah Janet Duncan on 22 December 1861 at 96 West Street, Brantford, Canada West (now Ontario), she was the oldest daughter of Charles Duncan, a well-off Scottish immigrant who worked as a dry goods and furniture merchant, and his wife, Jane (née Bell), who was Canada-born of Irish descent.