Margaret Marshall Saunders

Margaret Marshall Saunders was born May 13, 1861 in Milton, Nova Scotia. Milton is in the beautiful Annapolis Valley. Her parents were Edward Manning Saunders and Maria Kisborough Freeman.

Margaret was educated in Europe as was common at the time for families with strong connections to Europe. She taught for several years before being encouraged to write by her younger sister Rida.

She is best known for her book, Beautiful Joe, which was published in 1893. She wrote more than 20 other stories.  Her books provided social commentary on child labour, slum clearances, improvement of playgrounds and animal cruelty. Likewise her newspaper articles were about supervised playgrounds and other social issues in Halifax.

Beautiful Joe was submitted to and won a contest run by the American Humane Education Society. It is said to be the first Canadian novel to sell over one million copies worldwide.

In 1934 Margaret was recognized as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. She lectured many times and belonged to numerous organizations and humane societies. With Lucy Maud Montgomery she started the Maritime chapter of the Women's Press Club.

Margaret died on February 15, 1947 in Toronto, Ontario. In 1994 the Beautiful Joe Heritage Society celebrated her life and achievements. 

There is a park dedicated to Beautiful Joe in Meaford, Ontario.The park is situated along the Bighead River. This 8.5 acre park celebrates canine friends, helpers and heroes and includes memorials to service dogs, K9 and family pets.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Marshall_Saunders

https://archive.org/stream/atsignofhandpenn00rhoduoft#page/n22/mode/1up

https://archive.org/search.php?query=%28subject%3A%22Saunders%2C+Marshall%22+OR+subject%3A%22Marshall+Saunders%22+OR+creator%3A%22Saunders%2C+Marshall%22+OR+creator%3A%22Marshall+Saunders%22+OR+creator%3A%22Saunders%2C+M.%22+OR+title%3A%22Marshall+Saunders%22+OR+description%3A%22Saunders%2C+Marshall%22+OR+description%3A%22Marshall+Saunders%22%29+OR+%28%221861-1947%22+AND+Saunders%29&page=2

Bibliography

 • My Spanish Sailor (1889)

 • Beautiful Joe (1893)

 • Charles and His Lamb (1895)

 • For the Other Boy's Sake, and Other Stories (1896)

 • The House of Armour (1897)

 • The King of the Park (1897)

 • Deficient Saints (1899)

 • For His Country (1900)

 • Her Sailor (1900)

 • Tilda Jane, An Orphan In Search of a Home (1901)

 • Beautiful Joe's Paradise (1902)

 • Nita, the Story of an Irish Setter (1904)

 • The Story of Gravelys (1904)

 • Princess Sukey; The Story of a Pigeon and Her Human Friends (1905)

 • The Story of an Eskimo Dog (1906)

 • My Pets (1908)

 • Tilda Jane's Orphans (1909)

 • The Girl from Vermont (1910)

 • Pussy Black-Face (1913)

 • Boy, the Wandering Dog (1916)

 • Golden Dicky (1919)

 • Bonnie Prince Fetlar (1920)

 • Jimmy Gold-Coast (1924)

 • Esther de Warren (1927)

Mazo de la Roche

In writing this series of blog posts, I'm hoping to bring attention to some women who have influenced Canada's history but who have been neglected. I was influenced by Merna Forster's books 100 Canadian Heroines and 100 More Canadian Heroines. While reading these women's stories, I was surprised by how many of them I had never heard of. This prompted me to seek out more information and to share it with you.

photo courtesy of Wikipedia - no information on the source

I actually came across Mazo de la Roche's writing before reading Merna Forster's books. I've been reading the Jalna series over the last couple years. I was surprised by how much more she'd written that I hadn't heard of. Jalna is just the tip of the iceberg. I feel her writing opened the door for more Canadian authors to publish books outside of Canada.

Mazo was born Masie Roche in 1879 in Newmarket, Ontario to William Roche and Alberta Lundy. She was there only child as her mother was sickly during her childhood. They moved frequently. Her cousin Caroline Clement came to live with them in the mid-1880s. Mazo and Caroline lived together for most of their lives and were very close.

In 1927, Jalna was entered in a writing contest in the Atlantic Weekly. The fame that resulted from her winning overwhelmed her but gave her the financial freedom to travel. Caroline was able to leave her civil service job and the two of them travelled in Europe before settling in England until the second world war. While living in England, they adopted two children Esme and Rene.

In 1938, Mazo won the Lorne Peace medal for her writing. In 1976, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada recognised her as a national historic person. Ontario Heritage Foundation restored the Georgian style brick home in Mississauga, Ontario that was the inspiration for Jalna. Sovereign House, where she lived from 1911-1915 in Bronte, Ontario is preserved as a heritage building.  

She died in Toronto, Ontario in 1961. Carolyn had incorrect birthdates carved into their gravestone. She was still writing almost to the end of her life. The themes of her books may not have translated well to later generations causing the decline in her popularity and the lack of knowledge about her.

Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazo_de_la_Roche
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorne_Pierce_Medal
The mystery of Mazo de la Roche, National Film Board of Canada, Maya Gallus 2011
100 Canadian Heroines: Famous and Forgotten Faces, Merna Forster,  "An Imaginary World" p.75-77
Ringing the Changes, Mazo de la Roche, Macmillan and Company Limited, London, 1957