The Woman's Page: Journalism and Rhetoric in Early Canada

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, journalism, politics, and social advocacy were largely male preserves. Six women, however, did manage to come to prominence through their writing and public performance: Agnes Maule Machar, Sara Jeannette Duncan, E. Pauline Johnson, Kathleen Blake Coleman, Flora MacDonald Denison, and Nellie L. McClung. The Woman's Page is a detailed study of these six women and their respective works.

Focusing on the diverse sources of their rhetorical power, Janice Fiamengo assesses how popular poetry, journalism, essays, and public speeches enabled these women to play major roles in the central debates of their day. A few of their names, particularly those of McClung and Johnson, are still well known today, although studies of their writings and speeches are limited. Others are almost entirely unknown, an unfortunate fact given the wit, intelligence, and passion of their writing and self-presentation. Seeking to return their words to public attention, The Woman's Page demonstrates how these women influenced readers and listeners regarding their society's most controversial issues.

Janice Fiamengo is an associate professor in the Department of English at the University of Ottawa.