In this comprehensive biography, Christine Mander depicts the life and times of Emily Murphy with a refreshing candor and vitality. A true Canadian heroine – pioneering feminism, writer (under the alias Janey Canuck), patriot, mother, anti-drug crusader, first woman magistrate of the British Empire and rebel – Emily Murphy defied conventional labels. To Hell with Women Magistrates, fulminated one court official on her appointment. Her greatest triumph came in 1929 when Lord Chancellor Sankey reversed the Canadian Supreme Court decision by ruling that women are persons under the constitution and therefore eligible for any political office. When Emily Murphy died in 1933, after a long battle with diabetes, her friend and fellow activist Nellie McClung remarked, Mrs. Murphy loved a fight and so far as I know, never turned her back on one.

Christine Mander, born in Saskatchewan, returned to Canada in 1952 after an education in England. Currently on staff at the Oakville Public Library, she has published many articles on travel, nature, music and computers in major newspapers and periodicals. Her amusing book, All You Need Is Enough Rope (1981), is used in Alberta high schools and is being developed as a TV pilot.

Mander became interested in Emily Murphy when a book containing sketches of the lives of several Canadian women landed on her desk at the library. Emily was by far the most interesting of them all to her. When Christine began to dig deeper and discovered that Emily was indeed a colourful personality, far ahead of her time, and so appopriate for ours, Christine decided to try and capture the life, love and accomplishments of a remarkable woman. This book also reprints much of Emily's own delightful writing by way of freely quoted material.

Christine Mander's profile page