Non-Fiction — Review

Mazo de la Roche: Rich and Famous Writer

by Heather Kirk
XYZ Publishing, 2006
ISBN 1-894852-20-6
$17.95, 208 pp, young adult
www.xyzedit.qc.ca

Mazo de la Roche, best known for her Jalna novels, was born in Ontario in 1879 in Ontario. She became one of Canada’s best known and popular writers, with over 12 million of her 16 Jalna novels sold in 193 English-language editions and 92 foreign-language editions. This entertaining biography recounts her upbringing in the small towns of Ontario and shows how her real life influenced the characters and settings of the Whiteoaks estate of Jalna fame. Heather Kirk has included a number of photographs and a detailed chronology of Mazo de la Roche’s life which includes not only what was happening with de la Roche and her literary achievements, but the parallel events happening in Canada and the world at the time. Each chapter of the biography reveals intimate aspects of Mazo’s life, from the fantasy world she and her cousin and constant companion Caroline built together, to the jokes played on neighbourhood boys, her unexpected and sudden parenthood, to the bouts of depression that kept her helpless and unable to write. The book details the challenges of being a woman writer in the 1930s, and the personal challenges both she and Caroline had with providing a secure living until Mazo became a success. When she became a celebrated author, this book details how she preferred the quiet routines of home to the glare of celebrity status.

Written in easy to read language, this book describes the life and character of a fascinating woman who was not typical of women of her era. Not only does it describe the imaginative child and literate household that helped her skills develop, it also describes a brave spirit who coped with life’s challenges in an inspired, individualistic way. It is highly recommended.

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