Nellie L.

Elisabeth Anne MacDonald-Murray teaches English at the University of
Western Ontario.

It is refreshing to find a novel for young people that is not only about
a Canadian hero, but also about an individual who pioneered the fight
for women’s rights in Canada. Nellie L. is a fictionalized account of
the formative years in the life of Nellie McClung, neé Mooney. Basing
this version on McClung’s autobiography, Clearing in the West,
Constance Crook has attempted to bring to life for young readers a
prominent character from Canada’s past. In the notes that follow the
text, Crook carefully identifies specific incidents that she
“enhanced” through literary licence and provides a table of quotes
that she took directly from McClung’s autobiography. This
well-researched novel provides an entertaining and accurate reflection
of life on the Canadian prairie at the end of the 19th century.

The story portrays Nellie between the ages of 10 (a vibrant, headstrong
girl who preferred running with the boys to learning to be a good
farmer’s wife) to 18 (a young teacher beginning her struggle for
temperance and women’s rights). Through the narrative, Crook attempts
to show the many influences that gradually directed McClung toward her
future role as a writer and activist. Although the story ends just as
Nellie enters adulthood, the epilogue relates the further struggles and
triumphs of this remarkable woman. This text should encourage young
readers to find McClung’s own works and discover firsthand her vibrant
spirit. Recommended.