Margaret Laurence Estate
Books
Books
Jean Margaret Laurence was a Canadian novelist and short story writer, and is one of the major figures in Canadian literature. She was also a founder of the Writers' Trust of Canada, a non-profit literary organisation.
One of Canada's most esteemed and beloved authors by the end of her literary career, Laurence began writing short stories in her teenage years while in Neepawa. Her first published piece "The Land of Our Father" was submitted to a competition held by the Winnipeg Free Press. This story contains the first appearance of the name "Manawaka" (a fictional Canadian town used in many of her later works).
It was after her return to Canada that she wrote The Stone Angel (1964), the novel for which she is best known. The novel was for a time required reading in many North American school systems and colleges. Laurence was published by the Canadian publishing company McCelland and Stewart and she became one of the key figures in the emerging Canadian literary tradition.
Rachel, Rachel is a 1968 film directed by Paul Newman based on Laurence's novel A Jest of God. The Stone Angel, a feature-length film based on Laurence's novel, written and directed by Kari Skogland and starring Ellen Burstyn premiered in 2007.
Laurence won two Governor General's Awards for her novels A Jest of God (1966) and The Diviners (1974). In 1972 she was invested as a Companion of the Order of Canada. In 2016 she was named a National Historic Person.
Fiction
| Publication Details | Notes |
|---|---|
The Stone Angel 1964 McCelland & Stewart / CUP/Head of Zeus | Cantankerous, cranky and often befuddled at 90, Hagar Shipley isn't ready to give up her independence and go into an old-age home. But she is trapped in a body that is betraying her bit by bit and a mind that overwhelms her with passionate, painful memories. In this intimate accounting of her life, she recalls her privileged life as the daughter of Manawaka's only merchant, the rebellious spirit that led her to a miserable life as a farm wife, and the devastating death of her favourite child. When her son threatens to put her into a home, she takes matters into her own hands and seeks refuge in an abandoned canning factory. Hagar might be an irascible, vicious, and even vulgar old woman, but her feisty resilience makes her one of the most remarkable and appealing characters in Canadian literature. |
A Jest of God 1966 McCelland & Stewart / CUP/Head of Zeus | Rachel Cameron is a shy, retiring schoolmistress, tethered to her overbearing invalid mother. Thirty-four and unmarried, she feels herself edging towards a lonely spinsterhood. But then she falls in love for the first time, and embarks upon an affair that will change her life in unforeseen ways. |
The Fire-Dwellers 1974 McCelland & Stewart / CUP/Head of Zeus | Stacey Cameron, on the cusp of her forties, feels it's time for a change. Her marriage has worn threadbare and the children no longer need her. Should she have an affair? Take to drink? Or finally confront the woman in the mirror? Written in Margaret Laurence's distinctive style, this is a vivid portrait of a woman convinced that life has more to offer her than the tedious routine of her days. |