100 Canadian Heroines: Famous and Forgotten Faces

by Merna Forster

This inspiring collection profiles remarkable women ― heroines in science, sport, preaching and teaching, politics, war and peace, arts and entertainment, and more.

In 100 Canadian Heroines you’ll meet remarkable women in science, sport, preaching and teaching, politics, war and peace, arts and entertainment, etc. The book is full of amazing facts and fascinating trivia about intriguing figures. Discover some of the many heroines Canada can be proud of. Find out how we’re remembering them. Or not!

Augmented by great quotes and photos, this inspiring collection profiles remarkable women ― heroines in science, sport, preaching and teaching, politics, war and peace, arts and entertainment, and more. Profiles include mountaineer Phyllis Munday, activist Hide Shimizu, unionist Lea Roback, and movie mogul Mary Pickford.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

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]

100 Canadian Heroines is an interesting read. It contains a brief synopsis of women who have somehow contributed to Canada, whether in the arts, the sciences, or political reform. The segments about each women contain just enough information to pique the reader's interest but are short enough to read in a few minutes. After finishing the book I am a little curious about Forster's choice of including the word 'heroine' in the title. I think the title would have been more accurate if she had simply entitled the book '100 Famous and Forgotten Female Faces'. Some of the women Forster included in the book were not really heroines by any traditional sense of the word; they went through adversity but did not really contribute to society. These women's stories were interesting and showed hardships women faced but there were probably many other non-recorded women who experienced and overcame the same adversity; so forgotten yes, heroine, no. Also Merna Forster was a little loose on her definition of Canadian. These women ranged from people who were born in Canada and spent their whole lives here to others who just lived in Canada for 5-10 years and then left. Still, important stories but not truly Canadian.
That being said, I loved picking up facts about various women in the book who were clearly Canadian and clearly heroines. I can not wait to share some of the information I learned with others and especially my Girl Guides. I plan on reading her second book on this topic, 100 More Canadian Heroines: Famous and Forgotten Faces, to get a few more facts as well.

[Brianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked how the author included women of different backgrounds (not just have white women in it). I was also shocked because I only knew about 2 of the women in this book before and I'm actually Canadian. Overall, it's a very interesting book.

[Bob Hathway · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just fascinating.

[Connie MacLeod · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting read, however most women featured weren't Canadian. A few only lived here a year or two. Thst said, was good to learn about some amazing women.

[Jessica-Robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent resource for reference when I was doing a school project in Elementary. The excepts were pretty short and for a young kid who didn't know how to fully use the Internet it gave me direction.

It also however, gave me an interest in women's history and Canadian history in general. This book couldn't have acted as a better introduction, informational without being to heavy. My copy that I still have is full of poorly highlighted text but I still think it's pretty interesting to have around.

[Gail Picco]

Very digestible chunks of information on women who you've likely never heard of. I picked up the book because of the entry on Georgina Stirling, the Nightingale of the North, Newfoundland's opera singer who went by the name Madam Toulinguet. She was born and raised in Twilligate.

[Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decided not to finish this as it was too much like brief internet searches. However, what I did read I cruised through and it was mildly informative. Just don't have time to finish with the trip coming up.

[Daffodil · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as riveting as I thought it'd be. Regardless, very inspirational!

[Faye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. I knew of maybe 9 or 10 of these women before reading this book, so now I have a good loooong list of awesome Canadian women to look up and read more about. :)

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for every female - regardless of age. How accomplished we woman are though never credited for our great accomplishments.

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

so many amazing Canadian women, many I never heard of

[Jbondandrews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting collection of short biographies for these 100 women. I hope that if Merna Forster does another 100 Canadian women that she includes Frances Richards.