A Bird in the House, first published in 1970, is a short story sequence written by Margaret Laurence. [1] [2] Noted by Laurence to be "semi-autobiographical", [3] the series chronicles the growing up of a young agnostic writer, Vanessa MacLeod, in the fictional town of Manawaka, Manitoba. [4] A Bird in the House was written from the perspective of Vanessa at age forty, while she recalls her childhood (with the exception of the final chapter Jericho's Brick Battlements, when she revisits her childhood home). It is therefore impossible to tell if young Vanessa was truly able to understand the events unfolding around her, or if she gained that understanding later in life. Originally published as a series of independent short stories,
Vanessa MacLeod: The protagonist, various ages throughout the novel. The character is a middle-aged woman who uses flashback to reveal lessons learned from her family as she grows up.
Beth MacLeod, Vanessa's mother: Beth is a former nurse, as it is revealed in Chapter 3, "The Mask of the Bear". Now that she has children, she is a homemaker and peacemaker. She avoids conflict, especially with her hot-tempered father. She has a close relationship with her sister, Edna.
Ewen MacLeod, Vanessa's father: A doctor, like his father. He is unable to make money to support the family during the great depression, a time when people often pay him in chicken and potatoes. His father-in-law, Timothy Connor, often criticizes him for this lack of wealth. He was a soldier during World War I, and witnessed the death of his younger brother Roderick.
Roderick MacLeod, Vanessa's younger brother: Born in Chapter 2, "To Set Our House In Order". He is named after Ewen's brother, who died in World War I.
Edna Connor: Beth's sister, Vanessa's maternal aunt. A light-hearted and beautiful but troubled woman. She lives with her parents until she is twenty-eight, cooking and cleaning, unable to find a job and unwilling to marry simply for escape.
Timothy Connor: Vanessa's maternal grandfather. He is married to Agnes Connor, and they have several adult children. Two of them are his daughters, Beth and Edna. He is a prejudiced, gruff, impatient, unsympathetic, demanding, complaining person, who constantly criticizes.
Agnes Connor: Vanessa's maternal grandmother. Quiet, religious, unfailingly kind and calm.
Dan Connor: Timothy Connor's brother, Vanessa's great uncle.
Grandmother MacLeod: Vanessa's paternal grandmother. A conservative woman who is unable to accept the family's change in circumstances. She behaves as if the family is still wealthy, ordering fancy linens and silver from catalogues
A Bird in The House has been reprinted multiple times. A new edition was issued by McClelland & Stewart as part of the New Canadian Library in January 2010. [5]
Little Women is a coming-of-age novel written by American novelist Louisa May Alcott, originally published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869 at the request of her publisher. The story follows the lives of the four March sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—and details their passage from childhood to womanhood. Loosely based on the lives of the author and her three sisters, it is classified as an autobiographical or semi-autobiographical novel.
In Irish mythology, Deichtine or Deichtire was the sister of Conchobar mac Nessa and the mother of Cú Chulainn. Her husband was Sualtam, but Cú Chulainn's real father may have been Lugh of the Tuatha Dé Danann.
Marian Ruth Engel was a Canadian novelist and a founding member of the Writers' Union of Canada. Her most famous and controversial novel was Bear (1976), a tale of erotic love between an archivist and a bear.
Isabella Macdonald was the first wife of John A. Macdonald, one of the fathers of the Canadian federation, and ultimately the first Prime Minister of Canada. After marrying Macdonald in Kingston, Ontario in 1843, she enjoyed two years of happy marriage before falling seriously ill. Her first son died at 13 months but her second son, Hugh John Macdonald, became Premier of Manitoba. Despite some better spells, she died aged 48, never recovering from her illness.
Jean Margaret Laurence was a Canadian novelist and short story writer, and is one of the major figures in Canadian literature. She was also a founder of the Writers' Trust of Canada, a non-profit literary organization that seeks to encourage Canada's writing community.
Gwendolyn Margaret MacEwen was a Canadian poet and novelist. A "sophisticated, wide-ranging and thoughtful writer," she published more than 20 books in her life. "A sense of magic and mystery from her own interests in the Gnostics, Ancient Egypt and magic itself, and from her wonderment at life and death, makes her writing unique.... She's still regarded by most as one of the best Canadian poets."
The Writers' Trust of Canada is a registered charity which provides financial support to Canadian writers.
Lady Mary Ilona Margaret Whitley was a relative of the British royal family. The only child of the 2nd Marquess of Cambridge, she was a second cousin of Queen Elizabeth II.
The Diviners is a novel by Margaret Laurence. Published by McClelland & Stewart in 1974, it was Laurence's final novel, and is considered one of the classics of Canadian literature.
Sir Roderick William Cameron was a Canadian and American businessman noted for co-founding the R. W. Cameron and Company shipping line in New York City, as well as for his role as an official representative of Canada and Australia at several international exhibitions during the 1870s and 1880s.
Little Women is a 1933 American pre-Code drama film directed by George Cukor, and starring Katharine Hepburn, Joan Bennett, Frances Dee, and Jean Parker. The screenplay, written by Sarah Y. Mason and Victor Heerman, is based on the 1868-1869 two-volume novel of the same name by Louisa May Alcott.
The Stone Angel is a novel by Canadian writer Margaret Laurence. First published in 1964 by McClelland and Stewart, it is perhaps the best-known of Laurence's series of five novels set in the fictitious town of Manawaka, Manitoba. In parallel narratives set in the past and the present-day, The Stone Angel tells the story of Hagar Currie Shipley. In the present, 90-year-old Hagar struggles against being put in a nursing home, which she sees as a symbol of death. This narrative alternates with Hagar looking back at her life.
Margaret Olwen MacMillan, is a Canadian historian and professor at the University of Oxford. She is former provost of Trinity College, Toronto, and professor of history at the University of Toronto and previously at Ryerson University. MacMillan is an expert on history and international relations.
John Bethune was a Scottish Presbyterian minister, who served and helped found Reformed congregations among the Scottish diaspora in the Colony of North Carolina, Quebec, and in Upper Canada.
William Dubh MacLeod is considered to be the 7th Chief of Clan MacLeod. He is thought to have been a younger son, yet because of the death of his elder brother, William Dubh succeeded his father, Iain Borb, in the year 1442. William Dubh was an old man when he was killed, leading his clan, at the Battle of Bloody Bay in 1480. He was the last MacLeod chief to be buried on the island of Iona. He was succeeded by his son, Alasdair Crotach.
Isabel Ecclestone Mackay was a Canadian novelist and poet.
The Chiefs of Clan MacLeod claim descent from Leod, a high-born Norse-Gael who is thought to have lived in the 13th century, but whose ancestors are known from multiple pedigrees at least into the early 12th or late 11th centuries. It is said that the chiefs of the clan have been seated at Dunvegan Castle since the time of Leod, and this on the Isle of Skye where for centuries they were sovereign within their own territories.
Lt.-Colonel The Hon. Roderick Mackenzie of Terrebonne was a prominent Canadian fur trader, landowner and politician. He was a partner in the North West Company and a member of the Beaver Club at Montreal. He was a lifelong friend and the private confidant of his first cousin, Sir Alexander Mackenzie. He was an intellectual who established a library at Fort Chipewyan and both wrote and published works on the fur trade. In 1801 he made his home at Terrebonne, Quebec, purchasing the Seigneury in 1814, although he was forced by a court action to relinquish his title to the property in 1824. He continued to live there until his death. He held many public appointments, most notably as a member of the Legislative Council of Lower Canada.
Agnes Cecilia – en sällsam historia is a 1991 Swedish mystery film directed by Anders Grönros, based on Maria Gripe's young adult novel of the same name. Grönros won the award for Best Director and Per Källberg won the award for Best Cinematography at the 27th Guldbagge Awards. It was also nominated for Best Film and Gloria Tapia was nominated for Best Actress in a leading role.
The Desert's Price is a 1925 American silent Western film directed by W. S. Van Dyke and written by Charles Darnton. It is based on the 1924 novel The Desert's Price by William MacLeod Raine. The film stars Buck Jones, Florence Gilbert, Edna Marion, Ernest Butterworth, Arthur Housman and Montagu Love. The film was released on December 13, 1925, by Fox Film Corporation.