Purple Springs

by Nellie L. McClung

The third of Nellie McClung's four novels, Purple Springs (1921) completes the story of Pearlie Watson, the oldest child of shanty Irish immigrants settled in southwest Manitboa. Peral - now a country schoolteacher - has learned that the pain and suffering of the world is ingrained in structures which are not easily or effectively swayed by 'the art of being kind.' Purple Springs fictionally extends many of the arguments made by McClung in In Times Like These regarding 'male statecraft,' graphically illustrating the consequences through her characters. McClung skilfully weaves together these social critiques in a tale of love, vocation, and coming-of-age, which sees Pearl, as a prototypical McClung, take on the corrupt Conservative government of Manitoba - and win. McClung's own triumph in the 'Women's Parliament' held in Winnipeg's Walker Theatre in 1914 is here dramatically and delightfully recreated with Pearl Watson as the premier, in a speech taken virtually verbatim from McClung's own. Purple Springs explores an important piece of Canadian social history. It invites its readers to enter imaginatively an earlier age when women were second-class citizens in law as well as custom, and gives at least one woman's view of what needed to be done to right that injustice. Originally published by Thomas Allen, 1921.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Classics

335 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1922

About the author

Nellie McClung, born Nellie Letitia Mooney (20 October 1873 – 1 September 1951), was a Canadian feminist, politician, and social activist. She was a part of the social and moral reform movements prevalent in Western Canada in the early 1900s. In 1927, McClung and four other women: Henrietta Muir Edwards, Emily Murphy, Louise McKinney and Irene Parlby, who together came to be known as "The Famous Five" (also called "The Valiant Five")[citation needed], launched the "Persons Case," contending that women could be "qualified persons" eligible to sit in the Senate. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that current law did not recognize them as such. However, the case was won upon appeal to the Judicial Committee of the British Privy Council—the court of last resort for Canada at that time.
She published her first novel Sowing Seeds in Danny in 1908. A national bestseller, it was succeeded by short stories and articles in several Canadian and American magazines.

Reviews

[Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m amazed by how much I enjoyed a book that I literally only picked up because it has “Purple” in the title — I feel like it gave me a valuable glimpse into Canadian literary history, and the story suited my tastes both sentimentally and politically. My Popsugar Reading Challenge is a success just for bringing me to this charming novel.

[Judy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Will write more after I finish entering the other free Kindle books I read while in Tucson.

[Bethany · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting look into the time of the suffrage movement in Canada.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://pussreboots.pair.com/blog/2014...