Women's History & Legacy

The Backwoods of Canada: Being Letters from the Wife of an Emigrant Officer, Illustrative of the Domestic Economy of British America

Catherine Parr Traill (1802–1899) was an author and naturalist. She immigrated to Canada in 1832 with her husband, Lieutenant Thomas Traill. They received a land grant in Duoro Township, close to the Otonabee River, near Peterborough. Traill's publications include Canadian Wild Flowers (John Lovell, 1869), Studies of Plant Life in Canada (A.S. Woodburn, 1885) and Pearls and Pebbles (William Briggs, 1894).

The Backwoods of Canada describes her life as a pioneer in the uninhabited wilderness of Upper Canada near Cobourg and Peterborough. The book comprises a series of autobiographical letters, addressed to her mother and friends in England about the author's travel and adversity in the newly settled colony. The book was popular and extracts were included in Canadian Scenery (G. Virtue, 1842), with descriptions accompanying prints by W.H. Bartlett.

Carl F. Klinck praised the author for "a sense of immediacy, cheerful realism, controlled sentiment, shrewd comment, and a delightfully honest style" that are exhibited in her writing. Cynthia Sugars and Laura Moss argue that Traill was a much more complex figure than simply a smiling pioneer woman who overcame adversity with wit and humour—she was also "the author of some of the most practical well-grounded, rational advice for any settler writer."

Traill, Catherine Parr, 1802–1899

Canadiana

Charles Knight

1836

Frontier and pioneer life—Canada
Canada—Description and travel
Ontario—Description and travel

Public domain

F1057 .T76 1836

Winter Studies and Summer Rambles in Canada: In Two Volumes

Anna Brownell Jameson (1794–1860) was an author, governess, and feminist. She was an accomplished writer: The Diary of Ennuyée (H. Colburn, 1826), was her first major work, a fictional account of her journeys in Italy.

Other publications include Loves of the Poets (H. Colburn, 1829), Memoirs of Celebrated Female Sovereigns (H. Colburn and R. Bentley, 1831) and Characteristics of Women, Moral, Poetical and Historical (Saunders and Otley, 1831), a study of female characters in the plays of Shakespeare. Jameson was acquainted with many significant literary figures, including Lord Byron, Harriet Martineau, Robert Browning, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and others.

Winter Studies and Summer Rambles in Canada is Jameson's account of her visit to Upper Canada, where she attempted to settle with her estranged husband, Robert S. Jameson, a leading lawyer in the colony. Winter Studies chronicles her first impressions of Toronto and local society in 1836, while Summer Rambles chronicles her travels throughout Ontario. Carl F. Klinck praised the memoir as "one of the masterpieces of North American travel literature and a remarkable document of womanly independence."

Jameson, Mrs. (Anna), 1794–1860

Canadiana

Wiley and Putnam

1839

Huron, Lake (Mich. and Ont.)—Description and travel
Toronto (Ont.)—Description and travel

Public domain

F1057 .J31 1839

Roughing It in the Bush: Or, Life in Canada

Susanna Moodie (1803–1885) was an author and poet. Moodie was the editor of Victoria Magazine between 1847 and 1848, published in Belleville, Ontario. Moodie established her reputation as a poet and in her native England, publishing several titles, including Enthusiasm and Other Poems (Smith, Elder, and Company, 1831). In 1832, she settled in Upper Canada with her husband, John Wedderburn Dunbar Moodie.

Moodie's essays and sketches appeared in The Literary Garland, an important publishing platform for pioneer writing in the “new world,” featuring stories of travel to an unknown land and the challenges of frontier life. The magazine was published in nine volumes, from 1838 to 1851.

Roughing It in the Bush is an account of Moodie's experiences in the wilderness near Cobourg, Ontario, close to the Otonabee River, during her settlement there from 1832 to 1840. The book is one of the most well-known works of Canadian literature from the nineteenth century. The Moodies emigrated to the colony due to financial circumstances and in order to maintain their social standing, threatened after the death of Moodie's father left them in severe debt.

In 1840, Moodie and her family moved to Belleville, where her husband obtained the position of the sheriff, Victoria District. Life in the Clearings versus the Bush (Richard Bentley, 1953) depicts the life, politics, and inhabitants of the town. Moodie also published numerous works of fiction.

Moodie, Susanna, 1803–1885

Canadiana

Richard Bentley

1854

Frontier and pioneer life—Ontario
Canada—Description and travel
Ontario—Description and travel

Public domain

F1057 .M66 1852

Old Spookses's Pass, Malcolm's Katie, and Other Poems

Isabella Valancy Crawford (1850–1887) was a poet, born in Dublin, Ireland and settled in Ontario with her family in the course of her childhood. Crawford's poetic style was influenced by British Romantic and Victorian poets, classical literature, idealism, and concern for Canadian landscape.

According to critic Roy Daniells, Crawford's poetic style is distinctive due to the "creative intensity" of the poet, "whose personality shines through [her] achievement."

Old Spookses's Pass is a major collection of Crawford's poems, and includes "Said the Canoe," "Malcolm's Katie" (the longest and most well-known work), and "Old Spookses's Pass."

The book is signed by Helena Coleman and dated February 14th 1906. Her other significant collection, Collected Poems, appeared in 1905.

Crawford, Isabella Valancy, 1850–1887

Canadiana

[1886?]

Public domain

PR4518 .C17 O5 1886a

The Diary of Mrs. John Graves Simcoe: Wife of the First Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of Upper Canada, 1792–6 : With Notes and a Biography

Elizabeth Posthuma Simcoe (1766–1850) was an author, artist and diarist. She arrived in Quebec with her husband, Lieutenant John Graves Simcoe and their two youngest children on November 11th, 1791.

The Diary of Mrs. John Graves Simcoe chronicles the travels of the Simcoe family to Lower and Upper Canada, detailing the local inhabitants and life in the colony. The entries were written daily, from September 17th, 1791 to October 16th, 1796.

The first edition of the diary was edited by John Ross Robertson and published in 1911. Robertson (1841–1918) was a newspaper publisher, philanthropist, and rare book collector. He was the founder of the Telegram, a Conservative newspaper aimed at working-class readership. He was the author of several books on local and national history, most prominently Robertson's Landmarks of Toronto: A Collection of Historical Sketches of the Old Town of York from 1792 until 1833, and of Toronto from 1834 to 1904. Robertson donated his extensive collection of rare and early Canadiana book and materials to the Toronto Public Library.

The edition is illustrated with ninety reproductions of sketches made by the author. It was published by William Briggs, the trade division of the Methodist Book and Publishing House. Briggs (1836–1922) served as the Book Steward between 1879 and 1919. In 1920, the publisher was renamed Ryerson Press and was among the most prestigious publishing enterprises in the country.

The book was donated by the estate of David Sinclair (1942–1974), Rare Books and Special Collections Librarian, Victoria University Library.

Simcoe, Elizabeth, 1766–1850

Canadiana

William Briggs

1911

Ontario—Politics and government—Sources
Ontario—Social life and customs

Robertson, J. Ross (John Ross), 1841–1918

Public domain

F1058 .S568

Seeds of Pine

Emily Murphy (1868–1933) was a prominent writer, feminist, social reformer, and the first female police magistrate in the British Empire, publishing her works under the pseudonym of "Janey Canuck."

Seeds of Pine is a series of life and situational sketches of accompanied by Murphy's commentary. Janey Canuck recounts her travels to the north and northwest regions of Canada, visiting Jasper, Banff, Althabasca Landing and exploring Lesser Slave River and Lesser Slave Lake by boat. 

The book is bound in forest green cloth boards with a black illustration on front, with blind-stamped gilt lettering on front and spine.

Murphy, Emily F. (Emily Ferguson), 1868–1933

Canadiana

Hodder & Stoughton Limited

1914

Canada, Western—Description and travel

Public domain

F1015 .M8 1914

In Times Like These

Nellie Letitia McClung (1873–1951) was an author, teacher social reformer, politician, and suffragist. She earned a teaching certificate and worked until her marriage to a pharmacist, settling in Manitou, Manitoba.

The move marked the beginning of her activism and she became involved in the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. According to historian Charlotte Gray, McClung's acquaintance with the women in her town and their plight inspired her political involvement.

As a prohibitionist and suffragist, she was a prominent lecturer and public speaker. Along with Emily Murphy, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Louise Crummy McKinney and Irene Parlby (or the "Famous 5"), McClung petitioned the Supreme Court in an attempt to have women declared as “qualified persons,” eligible for public office as senators.

McClung's first novel, Sowing Seeds in Danny (William Briggs, 1910), a humourous depiction of a small prairie town, was a bestseller in Canada and the United States. Her other publications include The Second Chance (William Briggs, 1910), Painted Fires (Thomas Allen, 1925), Leaves from Lantern Lane (Thomas Allen, 1936) and many other titles, in addition to magazine articles and short stories. She also contributed two autobiographies, Clearing in the West: My Own Story (Thomas Allen, 1935) and The Stream Runs Fast: My Own Story (Thomas Allen, 1945). 

In Times Like These is a feminist treatise, arguing for women's equality on the basis of morality and maternal responsibility.

McClung, Nellie L., 1873–1951

Canadiana

McLeod & Allen

1915

Women—Canada
Women—History
Women—Social conditions

Public domain

HQ1426 .M25 1915

Isabella Valancy Crawford

Isabella Valancy Crawford (1850–1887) was a poet, born in Dublin, Ireland and settled in Ontario with her family in the course of her childhood. Crawford's poetic style was influenced by British Romantic and Victorian poets, classical literature, idealism, and concern for Canadian landscape. 

The title was published as part of a series, Makers of Canadian Literature. The series was edited by Lorne Pierce. Lorne Albert Pierce (1890–1961) was among the most influential book editors and literary critics in twentieth-century Canada. Between 1922 and 1960, he served as the Literary Editor at Ryerson Press, a publishing house of the Methodist Church.

Pierce was an ardent patriot devoted to the promotion of Canadian literature, poetry, and history through publishing. William Kirby, Marjorie Pickthall, Earle Birney, and E.J. Pratt were among the prominet poets and authors published by Ryerson Press under Pierce's editorship.

Pierce established the Makers of Canadian Literature series, the Ryerson Books of Prose and Verse, the Canadian History Readers, the Canadian Art series, and the Ryerson Poetry Chapbooks. He also created the Lorne Pierce Medal (awarded by the Royal Society of Canada) and the Edith and Lorne Pierce Collection of Canadiana.

Hale, Katherine, 1878–1956

Canadiana

Ryerson Press

1923

Crawford, Isabella Valancy, 1850–1887

Public domain

PR4518 .C17 A6 1923

Jalna

Mazo de la Roche (1879–1961) was a novelist. De la Roche wrote short stories, children's stories, travel narratives, plays, and contributed an autobiography, Ringing the Changes (Macmillan Company of Canada Limited, 1957). She was among the most prolific, popular, and widely read Canadian authors.

De la Roche's major contribution to twentieth-century Canadian literature is a series of "family saga" novels about the Whiteoak family and their Ontario estate, Jalna.

Jalna is the first book in the series, concluding with the one hundredth birthday of grandmother, Adeline Whiteoak. The novel brought major international recognition to the author and she was received an Atlantic Monthly award for the best novel published in 1912. Jalna sold nine million copies worrldwide and was translated into many languages.

The saga covers fifteen additional novels, spanning one hundred years of the Whiteoak family history, although it is not depicted in chronological order.

De la Roche, Mazo, 1879–1961

Canadiana

Little, Brown, and Company

1927

Public domain

PR6007 .E34 J34 1927

Women of Canada

Women of Canada is a celebration of prominent female professionals, social reformers, musicians, and artists in a collection of profiles. Each profile includes a biography, detailing the person's educational background, career, community and political involvement, and other accomplishments. It is accompanied by a photograph and the address of the person.

A biography of Augusta Stowe-Gullen (1857–1943) appears on page 113. The book includes duo-tone engravings and photogravures by Crabtree Limited.

Hawkesworth-Wood, Augusta

Canadiana

Women of Canada Publishing Company

1930

Women—Canada—Biography
Women—Canada—Employment
Stowe-Gullen, Augusta, 1857–1943

F1033 .W7

Confessions of an Immigrant's Daughter

Professor Jay Macpherson (1931–2012) praised the book as "one of the most rounded, intelligent, and attractive of Canadian life stories."

Born in 1890 in Winnipeg to immigrant parents, Salverson's novels depict the hardships and rewards associated with the experiences of newcomers who settled on the Canadian prairies, and the communities they established. Confessions of an Immigrant's Daughter chronicles the life of the novelist until the publication of her first novel, The Viking Heart (McClelland and Stewart, 1923), regarded as her best work of fiction.

Salverson describes her childhood, her Icelandic family and community, the difficulties of assimilation in the new country, efforts to become a teacher, and her marriage to George Salverson in 1913. Originally published in 1939 by Ryerson Press, the autobiography received Governor General's Award.

Salverson, Laura Goodman, 1890–1970

Canadiana

Reprint Society of Canada Limited

1949

Authors, Canadian—20th century—Biography
Salverson, Laura Goodman, 1890–1970—Biography

PR9199.3 .S35 Z464 1949

The Metal and the Flower

Patricia Kathleen Page (1916–2010) was a poet, writer, scriptwriter, and painter, born in Swanage, England. She was educated at St. Hilda's School in Calgary, Alberta and studied art at the Art Students' League in New York.

During the 1940s, while living and working in Montreal (the centre of English-language poetry in Canada at that time), Page was associated with other poets, most notably F. R. Scott and Patrick Anderson, among others. In March, 1942, the group jointly founded Preview, a literary magazine, and Page published her first volume of poetry, Unit of Five (Ryerson Press, 1944), which also included verses by Ronald Hambleton, Louis Dudek, Raymond Souster, and James Wreford.

Page's selected publications include The Sun and the Moon (Macmillan Company of Canada Limited, 1944, a romantic novel, published under a pseudonym, Judith Cape), Brazilian Journal (Lester and Orpen Dennys, 1987, a travel diary describing her experiences in Brazil, where her husband, William Arthur Irwin, was appointed as an ambassador), Cry Ararat! Poems New and Selected (McClelland and Stewart Company Limited, 1967), P. K. Page: Poems Selected and New (House of Anansi, 1974), and Evening Dance of the Grey Flies (Oxford University Press, 1981).

The Metal and the Flower, a collection of poems with cinematographic images, and short, precise statements, were influenced by the poet's work as a scriptwriter for the National Film Board, and received a Governor General's Award in 1954. Munro Beattie lauded the collection as "the exquisite patterns of meaning and suggestion composed by a rare and fastidious sensibility that never quite discloses itself or comes too near to the objects of the observation.

Page, P. K. (Patricia Kathleen), 1916–2010

Canadiana

McClelland and Stewart Company Limited

1954

PR6031 .A24 M4

Famous Doctors: Osler, Banting, Penfield

Viola Leone Whitney Pratt (1892–1984) was a teacher, writer,  and editor of World Friends. a magazine for children published monthly by the Woman's Missionary Society of the United Church of Canada. 

Although Pratt was often overshadowed by her husband, poet E.J. Pratt, she was an accomplished author, editor, and literary critic. In addition to Famous Doctors (Clarke, Irwin and Company Limited, 1956), Pratt also published Journeying with the Year: A World Friends Anthology (The Women's Missionary Society of the United Church of Canada, 1957). 

Pratt also served as President of the Canadian Authors' Association. and the University Women's Club. She was also an accomplished public speaker, addressing various groups such as university women's groups, church groups, and book clubs.

Mildred Claire Pratt (1921–1995) edited her mother's memoirs, essays, and lectures, published in Viola Whitney Pratt: Papers and Speeches and Viola Whitney Pratt: A Testament of Love (Lugus Publications, 1990). 

Pratt, Viola Whitney

Canadiana

Clarke, Irwin and Company Limited

1956

Banting, Frederick Grant, Sir, 1891–1941
Osler, William, Sir, 1849–1919
Penfield, Wilder, 1891–1976

Caudle, Nancy, illustrator

R464 .A1 P7