"And Martha Served": History of the Sisters of St Martha, Antigonish, Nova Scotia

Ashley Thomson is a full librarian at Laurentian University and co-editor or co-author of nine books, most recently Margaret Atwood: A Reference Guide, 1988-2005.

This book by James Cameron, a professor of history at St. Francis Xavier
University, builds on his earlier study, For the People: A History of
St. Francis Xavier University (1996). Named after the woman who served
Jesus, the Sisters of St. Martha was established to manage the domestic
affairs of the university. It was not long before the Sisters extended
their influence beyond the university by becoming involved in health
care, teaching, social work, and, at a later point, pastoral services
and spiritual development. By the mid–1960s, the order was active not
just in Nova Scotia, but in Ontario and the Western Canada as well.

Cameron places developments in the history of the order within the
larger context both of the church and the society it served. This
scholarly and balanced study, which is based on extensive archival
research and innumerable interviews, is loaded with interesting photos
and useful appendixes. The book’s only serious flaw is an apparent
typesetting problem that has resulted in the occasional appearance of
hyphens in the middle of words. Recommended for those interested in the
history of religion, women, and the various professions that attracted
the more than 600 sisters who served as Marthas.