Shackles

A reissued CanLit tale of feminism and power

Naomi Lennox struggles with two roles: promising writer, and dutiful wife to unambitious and proper Arthur. Will she follow her desire to pursue a writing career, supported by her lover Hugo Main and well-known writer Shireen Dey? Or will she remain bound to her husband, her family, and her role in society at the expense of everything else?

First published in 1926, Madge Macbeth’s Shackles magnifies the middle-class power and gender dynamics of its time. At turns provocative and surprising, and filled with dialogue and debate that expose early twentieth century limitations and opportunities for both women and men, Shackles is a colourful depiction of first-wave feminism in Canada.

“Shackles is a fascinating novel of one woman’s struggle to forge an artistic life amidst the intersecting restrictions of gender and economics.”―from the new introduction by Notes From a Feminist Killjoy author Erin Wunker

Madge Macbeth (1878-1965) was a prolific writer of articles, short stories, memoirs, radio and stage drama, and twenty novels. By her death in 1965, Madge was well-known as an Ottawa literary personality and as the first woman president of the Canadian Authors Association.