The Valiant Nellie McClung

When she settled on Vancouver Island in 1932, McClung was a highly esteemed public figure who had not only changed Canada's political landscape and influenced women's rights worldwide but had also raised five children and written a dozen best-selling books. From her beloved Island home, Lantern Lane, McClung continued to speak out against social injustice and inequality. In the late 1930s, she began to write a syndicated weekly newspaper column that served as social commentary for the years leading up to World War II. The Valiant Nellie McClung highlights a selection of those columns—covering themes as grave as war, as fundamental as the strength of the family unit, and as whimsical as the pleasure of gardening—and offers a unique reflection of our country's history and an uncanny resonance today.