Dorothy was born on 17th February 1879 in Lawrence, Kansas. Her parents were James Hulme Canfield a university professor, and his wife Flavia Camp, an artist and writer.
Dorothy studied at Ohio State University, America, Paris University in France and Columbia University, America. In 1907, Dorothy married John Redwood Fisher and the couple had two children.
Impressed by Maria Montessori's educational system during a visit to Italy, Dorothy took the idea back to the United States where she campaigned for life-long education as well as women's right and racial equality.
In the First World War, Dorothy and her husband went to France where Dorothy set up a printing press to print Braille books for soldiers blinded during the war. She also set up The Bidart Home for refugee French children, orphaned or displaced by the fighting. All this while bringing up two young children and looking after her husband.
In all, Dorothy wrote 22 novels and 18 works of non-fiction. She died on 9th November 1958.