Mrs. Simcoe: A Life in the Age of Revolution (Paperback or Softback)

Born into war and orphaned at birth, Elizabeth Posthuma Gwillim Simcoe lived through some of the most dramatic upheavals of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. From the genteel world of the English landed gentry to rugged colonial Canada, she bore witness to political, industrial, and personal revolutions. Mrs. Simcoe: A Life in the Age of Revolution traces the impressive journey of a woman whose private life intersected with public change. As wife to John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, Elizabeth documented colonial life in words and watercolours, offering an intimate lens on empire, gender, and cultural change.
Historian Kerry M. Abel draws on rich archival sources to bring Elizabeth's world to life, exploring how one woman negotiated faith, family, and identity in an age of empire and social transformation.
This is a compelling read for history lovers, readers of women's biography, British history, and anyone interested in pre-confederation Canadian history. Mrs. Simcoe reveals the hidden influence of a woman who shaped and was shaped by her times.

Kerry M. Abel is an award-winning professor of history, retired from Carleton University, whose work has shaped the field of Canadian history. Her acclaimed books-including Drum Songs and Changing Places-have explored Indigenous history, settler communities, and the intersections of culture, place, and identity. A former member of the Canadian Historical Association and the Champlain Society, Abel received multiple national honours for her writing, including the Clio Prize, the J.J. Talman Award, and the Floyd S. Chalmers Award for best book on Ontario history. She lives in Ottawa.
In Mrs. Simcoe: A Life in the Age of Revolution, Abel brings together key themes of gender, empire, religion, and social change, to offer a fresh, inclusive portrait of an underappreciated historical figure.