Stories Subversive

First-wave feminist, activist, and social reformer, Nellie McClung ranked as one of the most popular Canadian authors and among the liveliest critics of Canada's male-dominated society. Well ahead of her time, McClung was known as a writer who dared to discuss taboo topics, and for her inimitable humour, which rivals that of Stephen Leacock. This selection of her best short fiction includes depictions of difficult rural living conditions in Western Canada as well as "consciousness-raising" stories reflecting the undue restrictions on women and the anti-female laws and attitudes of her day.

MARILYN L. DAVIS, retired, is a specialist in Canadian literature. She taught at the University of Western Ontario and at the University of Saskatchewan.