Mary Abigail Dodge (March 31, 1833 - August 17, 1896) was an American writer and essayist, she wrote under pseudonym Gail Hamilton. Her writing is noted for its wit and promotion of equality of education and occupation for women. Mary Abigail Dodge was born March 31, 1833 in Hamilton, Massachusetts. She was born on a farm, the seventh child of Hannah and James Dodge. She was sent to a boarding school, and within a year was sent to the Ipswich Female Seminary. She graduated in 1850, and proceeded to teach there for four years, until she got a job at Hartford High School. She disliked the job, however, and decided to write poetry. editor Gamaliel Bailey read her work in 1856, and hired her as a governess to his children. from there, she sent in her publications to anti-slavery news papers, and wrote a biography on James Blaine. She disliked attention, and chose the pen name Gail (last part of her last name) Hamilton (her place of birth). Her essays were best known for their harshness on men. While finishing her biography on James Blaine, she had a stroke, leaving her in a coma that lasted for several weeks. She then returned to Hamilton, before dying of a cerebral hemorrhage August 17, 1896.