Painted Fires

Nellie L. McClung (1873-1951) is a Canadian icon - feminist, social activist, author, and political leader. When she was a child, she moved to Manitoba with her pioneering family. As a teacher in rural Manitoba, she was a keen observer of village life at the turn of the century.

As a suffragette, she led the campaign for women's enfranchisement, which saw Manitoba become the first province in Canada to grant the vote to women in 1916, a right only granted at the national level in 1918, before either the US (1920) or UK (1928). Elected to the Alberta legislature in 1921, she championed children’s health care and women’s rights. As a member of the "famous five", whose statues now grace the grounds of the Manitoba legislature, her 1929 court challenge led to the recognition of women as “persons”, eligible to sit as federal senators.

In Painted Fires, she tells the story of Helmi Milander, a young immigrant from Finland in the years before WWI. “Young, strong, and unafraid”, Helmi’s story weaves together the threads of McClung’s social activism, including the futility of war, woman’s suffrage, and the fate of immigrants in early 20th century Canada. (Summary by ASharma)