Party at Rideau Hall

Early Voices — Portraits of Canada by Women Writers, 1639–1914

ByMary Alice DownieandBarbara RobertsonandElizabeth Jane ErringtonandCatharine Parr Traill

Published October 2015

ePub

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Description

This selection of writings by twenty-nine women, known and unknown, professional and amateur, presents a unique portrait of Canada through time and space, from the seventeenth to the early twentieth centuries, from the Maritimes to British Columbia and the Far North. There is a range of voices from high-born wives of governors general, to an Icelandic immigrant and a fisherman’s wife in Labrador. A Loyalist wife and mother describes the first hard weather in New Brunswick, a seasick nun tells of a dangerous voyage out from France, a famous children’s writer writes home about the fun of canoeing, and a German general’s wife describes habitant customs. All demonstrate how women’s experiences not only shared, but helped shape this new country.

Reviews

Some of the women writers were wealthy. Some were poor. Some wrote professional. Others kept journals. Together, they richly portray Canadas geography and early culture.

Road Stories

A splendid selection of the observations and experiences of twenty-nine women.

OHS Bulletin

Replete with intellectually provocative commentary on women's experience of life in Canada.

Ontario History magazine

Contributors

Mary Alice Downie

Mary Alice Downie has written and edited twenty-eight books for children and adults. Her many books include And Some Brought Flowers with Mary Hamilton, and The Well-Filled Cupboard with Barbara Robertson. She lives in Kingston, Ontario.

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Barbara Robertson

Barbara Robertson earned degrees in history from the University of Toronto and Queen’s University. She was also the author of Wilfrid Laurier and co-editor of Ottawa at War.

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Elizabeth Jane Errington

Elizabeth Jane Errington is currently dean of arts at the Royal Military College and also teaches at Queen’s University. Her research interests centre on life in nineteenth-century Upper Canada. She lives in Kingston, Ontario.

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Catharine Parr Traill

Catharine Parr Traill, sister of Agnes Strickland and Susanna Moodie, settled near Peterborough Ontario in 1832. She felt that the hours spent gathering the pebbles and pearls from her notebooks and journals written in the backwoods of Canada was not time wasted.

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Book Details

ePub
October 2015
-
100 pp
9781459734760