100 More Canadian Heroines: Famous and Forgotten Faces

by Merna Forster, Julie Payette

In this second installment of the bestselling Canadian Heroines series, author Merna Forster brings together 100 more incredible stories of great characters and wonderful images. Meet famous and forgotten women in fields such as science, sport, politics, war and peace, and arts and entertainment, including the original Degrassi kids, Captain Kool, hockey star Hilda Ranscombe, and the woman dubbed "the atomic mosquito." This book is full of amazing facts and trivia about extraordinary women. Youll learn about Second World War heroine Joan Fletcher Bamford, who rescued 2,000 Dutch captives from a prison camp in a Sumatran jungle while commanding 70 Japanese soldiers. Hilwie Hamdon was the woman behind the building of Canada's first mosque, and Frances Gertrude McGill was the crime fighter named the "Sherlock Holmes of Saskatchewan." Read on and discover 100 more Canadian heroines and how theyve changed our country.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

408 pages, Paperback

First published September 7, 2011

About the author

Merna Forster is the author of the bestselling Canadian Heroines series, which brings together the inspiring true stories of great Canadian women and compelling historical images. Merna has been discovering historical heroines from coast to coast during her travels. She received the 2016 Governor General’s History Award for Popular Media (Pierre Berton Award) from Governor General David Johnston. Visit her online at heroines.ca and on Facebook.

Reviews

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read both of Merna Forster's books summarizing Famous and Forgotten Canadian Heroines. Her second book contains 100 more women and on the whole the read is interesting. The book is set up to provide the reader with a brief synopsis of famous women. Forster helpfully includes a reference section in case the reader wishes to further study the life of a particular woman. Each section is easy to read and Merna Forster has tried to include a picture of each of the women featured so that the reader can visualize the lady being described.
As with her first book though, the term 'Canadian' and 'Heroine' is loosely used. Some of the women outlined are not really Canadian, rather they only lived in Canada for a brief point in history. My biggest peeve with this book is the number of editorial errors. In several chapters the same sentence is repeated twice and in some spots the captioning with the photo is incorrect. These errors are in addition to the occasional typo. I would have expected these types of mistakes to have been caught by the editor and fixed long before publishing. It makes me wonder if the book was pushed though to publishing too quickly.
Ultimately, Forster's book does provide light on some dynamic and historically important women. The short vignettes that she shares may provide the push to get a reader to do their own research on a particular woman. It would be nice if the short stories were published online to provide greater and quicker access to the database Forster has compiled.

[Ivan Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those who are into Canadian History or want to learn about our history; “100 Canadian Heroines” and “100 more Canadian Heroines” are a must read. Ms. Forster has brought forward the lives of Canadian women who have made a major difference and help shape our great country.
In her books she tells about Anna Leonowens who was the teacher to the children of the King of Siam; which inspired the movie “The King and I”. She also talks about Colonel Elizabeth Smellie who served in two world wars and led the Victorian Order of Nurse.
These are only two of the amazing true stories you will read in these books.

[Jaime (Twisting the Lens) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book through GoodReads FirstReads.

This is a great reference into the lives of many influential Canadian women. Although this book focuses on the impact these women had in Canada, their influence is apparent beyond. I have to admit, I really enjoyed the part about the DeGrassi women, as it was one of the shows I remember from my childhood. There are so many stories that it is impossible not to be inspired while reading!

[Bob Hathway · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms Forster has uncovered and illuminated the lives of many female Canadian heroes that most people and most histories do not know about. There are a number of Canadian women who were the first to accomplish something and those achievements are duly noted in the book. The inclusion of pictures and quotes from these women was an added bonus.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be as good as the first volume.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wonderful book! I'm truly inspired by the courage and determination of these women. Love it!