The Other Mrs. Diefenbaker : A Biography of Edna May Brower

by Simma Holt

Slight shelf and edge wear. Text is perfect. Same day shipping first class from AZ.

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

Reviews

[Eleanor Cowan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why was a beloved Saskatchewan school teacher, Edna Brower, a woman who devotedly brought about her husband’s success, erased from her place in history – by him? Author Simma Holt had no trouble gathering hundreds of eager parliamentary witnesses, only too thrilled to render justice to an exceptional woman they, to a one, honored for her confidential political work of benefit to Canada.
Once engaged to a man who loved her so much he refused to accept the engagement ring she returned to him, Edna instead decided to throw her considerable talents behind someone who needed her. Slowly, she discovered she’d married a child, an extremely entitled taker who refused her requests for rest and who extracted decades of exhaustive service. The ugly details of the treatment Edna endured during her married life are, literally, shocking. A real fable of warning.
Eleanor Cowan, author of A History of a Pedophile's Wife: Memoir of a Canadian Teacher and Writer

[Denise Goodkey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting! A bit overdone with irrelevant details

[Wendell Hennan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again John Diefenbaker does not fare well, turning his back on the twenty some years of marriage to his first wife, not giving her a mention in his memoirs, and excluding her surviving family in his own state funeral service years later. Edna Brower worked tirelessly to help John over come his shortcomings and providing him with constant and supportive feedback on all of his political activities. Their marriage for the most part, extremely happy, was not without tensions and his agreement to having her receive shock treatment during her 6 month stay in an Ontario sanitorium was his biggest transgression in her mind. Extremely personable and human, she was loved by one and all and the first non politician to be given tribute in the House of Commons. A fascinating story from a Canadian historical aspect and extremely well researched, with sufficient interviews conducted to virtually re create their lives, day by day, discussion by discussion.

The final chapters restore some points for the Chief as he remains at her side during her final weeks and honours her final requests, one being to defend a young railway employee who was being falsely held responsible for a train collision which took some 20 lives. A poignant and powerful ending to this fascinating read.

[Sherrida · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I was growing up Diefenbaker was a household name. I purchased this book a long time ago and I remember, at the time, being surprised that John G. had been married twice. I'm not sure if the book changed my opinion of the man, but it certainly made me aware of how much his first wife put into his career. The fact that she is barely mentioned in Diefenbaker's memoirs is an insult, not an oversight.

[La Cranberry · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit dry, even with the hint of scandal attached to the subject matter.