Margaret Ball was born in New Haven, Connecticut on April 9, 1878. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Mount Holyoke in 1900, and went on to obtain a Master's Degree in English Literature and a Ph.D. in Education and Comparative Literature at Columbia University in 1903 and 1908 respectively. She published her first work in 1907, entitled "Sir Walter Scott as a Critic of Literature." In 1910 she published "The Principals of Outlining," and in 1924 an introduction to Charlette Bronte's "Jane Eyre," Modern Reader Series. Additionally, Ball wrote numerous articles in many popular periodicals. She taught as an assitant professor at Mount Holyoke College and Barnard College. She gained a full profesorship in 1921 and taught at Mount Holyoke until 1943. Margaret Ball died on January 3, 1952 in Lakeville, Connecticut.