The New Day Recalled : Lives of Girls and Women in English Canada 1919-1939

by Veronica Jane Strong-Boag

Strong-Boag, Veronica

233 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[Dasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strong-Boag paints a detailed picture of the lives of, largely, white Anglo-Saxon women in the early twentieth century. Each chapter is framed around a period of women's development (childhood, working years, marriage/home, and the 40+ years). She highlights how women's lives changed as consumerism overtook thrift, more women found wage work, and family life shifted. Underpinning any changes is Strong-Boag's argument of the ubiquitous patriarchy and sexual hierarchy that was more important than class in shaping women's lives. At times, she compares Canadian women's lives to those of American women where Canadian women were often poorer (such as spending less on makeup). For all its strengths, it is a homogenous look at women and girls. Immigrant, Indigenous, rural, and particularly wealthy women's lives looked and played out differently and for this the reader must search out other scholarship.

[Teghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential reading for anyone doing research into history and the role of gender in Canada.

[Marsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read if you are looking to understand the position of women in Canadian history in the interwar years.