The Penguin Anthology of Stories by Canadian Women

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian studies at
Concordia University, and the author of Kurlek, Margaret Laurence: The
Long Journey Home, and As Though Life Mattered: Leo Kennedy’s Story.

This rich and varied collection confirms what most readers already
know—that women writers have played a prominent role in the literary
renaissance Canada has experienced since the early 1960s.

Giants like Alice Munro, Mavis Gallant, Jane Urquhart, Carol Shields,
and Ethel Wilson are represented in the anthology, along with relative
newcomers like Shani Mootoo and Linda Svendsen. Margaret Laurence, Adele
Wiseman, and Gabrielle Roy are three inexplicable and unfortunate
omissions. The Canadian francophone voice in translation is represented
by Monique Proulx’s “Leah and Paul,” for example, and Helene
Rioux’s “Opening Night.”

Denise Chong is the author of the prize-winning memoir The
Concubine’s Daughter (1994). Her selections encompass an impressive
range of experiences, themes, and emotions. These 32 stories will stay
with you long after the book goes onto your shelves.