(left: 1960 St. Martin’s dj–design by Reynold Pollak; middle: same edition, blurb; photo P. Esterhazy; right: Macmillan 1961 dj, uncredited artist)
(McClelland & Stewart, 1963 dj, cover artist: BL)
(left: McClelland & Stewart, 1964 dj by Frank Newfeld; middle: Goose Lane/CBC cassettes; photo by blog-author in Neepawa cemetery of statue believed to be the inspiration for the stone angel figure)
(1969 McClelland & Stewart dj–cover by Paul Bacon; inscribed by Laurence)
(left: 1970 UK ed. by Macmillan; dj by Peter Kettle; middle & right: McClelland & Stewart 1974 pb flatsigned)
(left: Knopf 1970; dj by Warren Chappell; recommended WB movie adaptation by Paul Newman starring his wife Joanne Woodward; right: 1966 Popular Library pb–still from movie)
(must-see 1978 NFB documentary, VHS, directed by Robert Duncan)
(left: painting on cover of Vol. 1, No. 1 of the 1991 review by the Margaret Laurence Society; my elegy on right appeared on the inside back page)
(must-see tourist/fan shrine in Neepawa, MB, west of Winnipeg; the folks there have done a nice job of restoring the home and recreating the childhood home of the ‘big house’ featured in A Bird in the House–well worth the stop/visit. Souvenirs available. The Gabrielle House in St. Boniface, Winnipeg is likewise well worth a visit if you are in MB.
Born in Neepawa, MB, (Jean) Margaret Laurence (1926-1987) was the most significant prairie novelist of the 1960s and ’70s. She quickly gained a wide international following for her impressive work about women’s lives. While married, she lived on the Gold Coast (Ghana) and England before returning to Lakefield, ON where she lived till the end of her life.
Laurence had a strong awareness of the complexities of human consciousness and relationships which was reflected throughout her writing. Her novels set in the fictional town of Manawaka include A Jest of God, which won the 1966 GG award for fiction, The Stone Angel (1964), The Diviners (1974), and The Fire Dwellers(1969). I used to teach her excellent story collection A Bird in the House (1970), which I still consider to be her best artistically interconnected work.
She was a founder of The Writers’ Trust of Canada and was active in causes for world peace. She also wrote three books for children: Jason’s Quest (1970), Six Darn Cows (1979), and The Olden Day’s Coat (1980). NFB made an excellent 1978 documentary about her called The First Lady of Manawaka which reveals her personality and passion for writing. Laurence was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1972.