Full Description
Nellie Letitia McClung (1873-1951) is recognized as a key figure in Canadian history as well as Canadian literature. Her two-volume autobiography provides a remarkable and very readable account of a truly extraordinary life. McClung is best known for her involvement in the 1929 "Person's Case," in which the British Privy Council ruled in favour of an appeal by the "Famous Five" against the judgement of the Supreme Court of Canada that women did not qualify legally as persons. McClung had, however, been a high profile figure, as a suffragist, politician, and writer, in Canadian politics and literature for many years and remained so well into the 1940s. Her autobiography provides unique insight into Canadian public affairs in the first half of the twentieth century. Equally interesting are McClung's accounts of her early days as a child, teacher, young wife and mother. With her fine eye for detail, she makes the Canada of her time come vividly alive for readers.
Originally published in two volumes, McClung's autobiographies found a wide audience from their first publication in 1935 and 1945. They have never before been available in a single volume. For this re-issue Veronica Strong-Boag and Michelle Lynn Rosa have written a substantial introduction and added explanatory notes that illuminate the woman and the historical context for modern readers.
Contents
Introduction: "Some Small Legacy of Truth"
Bibliography
Clearing in the West
The Youngest of Six
The Family
The House and the People
Echoes from the West
The Decision
We Arrive
On the Trail
Companions on the Way
The First Winter
Spring Came At Last, Bringing Neighbours
The Henhouse Door
Social Activities
The Church and the School
Picnics
The Way of the Transgressor
Men and Machines
Limitations
Retribution
My First Sight of Brandon
Christmas Day
A Visit from the Teacher
Trouble in the North West
The Tragic Ending
The Dramateurs
The Party
The Family Is Extended
Hands Across the Sea
The First Sorrow
When the Door Opened
Winnipeg in 1889
My First School
Winds of the World
Raw Material
The Young Evangelists
I Saw E. Cora Hind
My First Political Meeting
Manitou
Summer Holidays
In Which the First Part of My Life Ends
Life Goes On, No Matter Who Dies
Treherne
The Royal Visit
The Farm in 1895
Commencement
The Stream Runs Fast
Manitou 1896
Humble Beginnings
Genesis
The Family
Town Hall Tonight
Social Life
The Winds of the World
Strong Women
The Flavour of a Hymn
My First Story
The First House
The First Move
A Gentleman of the Old School
"The Women's Parliament"
The Campaign
The War
Westward We Go!
We Take the Bitter with the Sweet
New Places and People
Alberta Politics
Singing Up the Hill
The Glad Day
The Prairie Pilgrim
Family Matters
Up to London
On the Writing of Books
The Middle Years
Travellers' Joy
Nova Scotia
The League of Nations, 1938
The Way of Words
Conclusion
