245 ratings | 46 reviews | avg rating:4.33

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Linda Leith

Goodreads Author

Born

Belfast, N. Ireland, The United Kingdom

Website

http://www.lindaleithauthor.com/

Twitter

lindaleith

Genre

Nonfiction, Memoir, Fiction

Influences

Mavis Gallant, Muriel Spark, Margaret Drabble, Zadie Smith, and many m ...more

Member Since

July 2012

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/lindaleith

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Montreal writer and publisher Linda Leith was born in Northern Ireland, and has lived in London, Basel, Paris, Budapest, and Ottawa.

Her most recent book is The Girl from Dream City: A Literary Life (University of Regina Press, April 2021.

The daughter of a glamorous mother and a charming left-wing doctor with a secret mental illness, Linda Leith is "fearless and unstoppable" -- Will Aitken, author of Antigone Undone

"If you liked memoirs by Diana Athill, Alexandra Fuller, and Madame de Stael, you'll love Linda Leith's new book." -- Mary Soderstrom, author of Frenemy Nations and Concrete

Leith's other nonfiction books include the literary history Writing in the Time of Nationalism: From Two Solitudes to Blue Metropolis (Signature 2010), publis ...more

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Combine Editions
Linda Leith’s books

Average rating: 3.95 · 319 ratings · 25 reviews · 25 distinct works

	The Girl from Dream City: A Literary Life (The Regina Collection, 17) 3.89 avg rating — 28 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Marrying Hungary 3.86 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2008	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Introducing Hugh MacLennan's Two Solitudes (Canadian Fiction Studies series) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 1990	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Desert Lake 4.67 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2007 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Birds of Passage 4.67 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 1993	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Girl from Dream City: A Literary Life (The Regina Collection Book 17) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Writing in the Time of Nationalism: From Two Solitudes to Blue Metropolis 3.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2010 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Tragedy Queen it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 1995 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Écrire au temps du nationalisme it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2010	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Deux Solitudes it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2000	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Linda Leith…

Linda is Currently Reading

Linda Leith rated a book really liked it

Electric Spark: The Enigma of Muriel Spark

by Frances Wilson

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Nov 17, 2025 10:05AM

Linda Leith is currently reading

Universe! Vol. 1 The Periodical of Cosmic Wonder (¡Universo! #1-5)

by Albert Monteys

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Jun 17, 2024 11:13AM

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Linda’s Recent Updates

Linda Leith is now following Margaret Atwood Author of The Handmaid’s Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1)
Jan 28, 2026 01:55PM · like
Linda Leith finished reading There's Always More to Say by Natalie Southworth (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 28, 2026 01:52PM · like
Linda Leith liked Cat.L.'s review of There's Always More to Say: " I read several Natalie Southworth’s stories in literary journals. I am happy to see the collection includes these and new ones. I loved the characters, and the small details and observations that make up relationships and life. These are very relatab" Read more of this review »
Jan 28, 2026 01:52PM · see review
Linda Leith has read Motherhood by Sheila Heti (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 25, 2026 02:35PM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Motherhood by Sheila Heti. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Motherhood by Sheila Heti <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Linda Leith wants to read The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World by William Dalrymple	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 17, 2025 10:13AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Golden Road by William Dalrymple. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Golden Road by William Dalrymple <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Linda Leith rated a book it was amazing Beyond Ken Dryden: A memoir by Oren Safdie	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 17, 2025 10:07AM · like
Linda Leith and 2 other people liked Randy Wilson's review of Electric Spark: The Enigma of Muriel Spark: "I have read all of Muriel Spark’s novels, some of her short stories and poetry as well as the initial Spark biography. This book isn’t so much a biography as a brilliant essay looking at how an artist uses their life imaginatively to make art. A coupl" Read more of this review »
Nov 17, 2025 10:05AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Electric Spark by Frances Wilson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Electric Spark by Frances Wilson <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Linda Leith rated a book really liked it Electric Spark: The Enigma of Muriel Spark by Frances Wilson	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 17, 2025 10:05AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Electric Spark by Frances Wilson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Electric Spark by Frances Wilson <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Linda Leith wants to read Spark (Electric #2) by E.L. Todd (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 17, 2025 10:04AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Spark by E.L. Todd. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Spark by E.L. Todd <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Linda Leith and 3 other people liked Giles Blunt's review of Big Girls Don't Cry: A Memoir About Taking Up Space: "I enjoyed this book tremendously. It's much more than a presentation of memories. Really, it's an extended personal essay in the vein of masters like Susan Sontag and Joan Didion. To be sure, as a staunch second-wave feminist Swan has lots of tart me" Read more of this review »
Nov 17, 2025 10:01AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Big Girls Don't Cry by Susan Swan. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Big Girls Don't Cry by Susan Swan <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

More of Linda's books…

Linda’s Quotes

“Crime doesn’t take a holiday. It changes costume for the season, and Christmas is the season for domestic violence. Too much pressure to deliver the perfect gift, and not enough money. Too little to say, and too much alcohol encouraging confessions. Never enough love or imagination to deliver the dream.”
― Peter Kirby, The Dead of Winter

tags: christmas, crime, domestic-violence

3 likes

“But you know how it is with fathers and sons. We can’t say what we want to say. We think a nod is a paragraph and a sentence is a book, and, in the end, all that’s important is left unspoken.”
― Peter Kirby, The Dead of Winter

tags: family, father, son

2 likes

“I suppose that’s an inevitable part of human existence, but in the bosom of a close family it can, at least, be endured. For the homeless, there is no relief. Without family or friends there’s only the pain.”
― Peter Kirby, The Dead of Winter

tags: family, friendship, humanity

1 likes

“The contract between the author and the reader is a game. And the game . . . is one of the greatest invetions of Western civilization: the game of telling stories, inventing characters, and creating the imaginary paradise of the individual, from whence no one can be expelled because, in a novel, no one owns the truth and everyone has the right to be heard and understood.”
― Carlos Fuentes, Myself with Others: Selected Essays

tags: imagination, novel, story, truth

27 likes