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No Ordinary Woman: The Story of Mary Schäffer Warren
Artist, photographer, writer and explorer Mary Schaffer Warren overcame the limited expectations of women a century ago in order to follow her dreams. Born into a wealthy Pennsylvania Quaker family, Mary Sharpless was a precocious child who longed to experience the world beyond her sheltered home. An 1889 cross-Canada trip with her new husband, doctor and botanist Charles Schaffer, proved to be the turning point in her it was when she fell hopelessly in love with the Canadian mountains. After her husbands death in 1903, Mary embarked upon a series of explorations in the Canadian Rockies that were far more extensive than was thought proper for a woman at the time. Her most famous trips, in 1907 and 1908, led to the rediscovery of Maligne Lake and, later, her highly regarded book Old Indian Trails of the Canadian Rockies , published in 1911 and now part of the Mountain Classics Collection from Rocky Mountain Books. Mary eventually settled in Banff and married her handsome young guide, Billy Warren. Since her death in 1939, her extraordinary accomplishments continue to inspire peopleparticularly women to follow their dreams. This latest printing of Janice Sanford Becks bestselling biography of Mary Schaffer Warren features new information based on correspondence between Schäffer and her friend and lawyer, George Vaux Jr., that was recently acquired by the Whyte Museum in Banff.
224 pages, Paperback
First published May 20, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 8, 2019
I picked this up at the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies in Banff when I was there in 2016 after learning a bit about Mary Schäffer Warren in some of the exhibits. She was an interesting woman, although rather contradictory in personality.
She grew up in a prominent Quaker family in West Chester, PA (not too far from where I live) in the latter half of the 19th century, and fell in love with the Canadian Rockies while accompanying her first husband, Dr. Charles Schäffer, on his botanical expeditions. After his death, she continued taking summer trips to the Rockies in the early 20th century, persuading other women to accompany her (since a woman travelling alone was frowned upon at the time). She was quite determined and self-sufficient for several years, becoming (with her travel companion) one of the first two non-Native women to explore certain areas of the Rockies, and she eventually moved to Banff year-round. However, her self-confidence waned again when she married a second time.
She was sympathetic to the displacement of Native Americans, but at the same time she mainly held a romanticized idea of them and clearly preferred those who had been "civilized" according to Anglo missionary standards.
Beck’s writing lacked depth in some places and I'm sure at least part of that is due to the archival record (and any lacks therein), but some of it was definitely on the part of the biographer. There were many instances when I wished for a bit more contextual information that Beck did not provide. It was still interesting overall, though.
I also liked that a few of MSW's unpublished writings were included in the last 60 pages. It was an interesting sampling of genres with some fiction as well as nonfiction travel narratives. MSW's love of Banff and the Rockies definitely shines in her descriptions of places she visited.
She grew up in a prominent Quaker family in West Chester, PA (not too far from where I live) in the latter half of the 19th century, and fell in love with the Canadian Rockies while accompanying her first husband, Dr. Charles Schäffer, on his botanical expeditions. After his death, she continued taking summer trips to the Rockies in the early 20th century, persuading other women to accompany her (since a woman travelling alone was frowned upon at the time). She was quite determined and self-sufficient for several years, becoming (with her travel companion) one of the first two non-Native women to explore certain areas of the Rockies, and she eventually moved to Banff year-round. However, her self-confidence waned again when she married a second time.
She was sympathetic to the displacement of Native Americans, but at the same time she mainly held a romanticized idea of them and clearly preferred those who had been "civilized" according to Anglo missionary standards.
Beck’s writing lacked depth in some places and I'm sure at least part of that is due to the archival record (and any lacks therein), but some of it was definitely on the part of the biographer. There were many instances when I wished for a bit more contextual information that Beck did not provide. It was still interesting overall, though.
I also liked that a few of MSW's unpublished writings were included in the last 60 pages. It was an interesting sampling of genres with some fiction as well as nonfiction travel narratives. MSW's love of Banff and the Rockies definitely shines in her descriptions of places she visited.
July 7, 2019
A well written book a true pioneer in The Canadian Rockies. Having recently visited the Rockies, it was interesting to read about a woman who had a profound impact on bringing tourism to this region. Mary’s personality is as interesting as it is contradictory. This is a woman who faced many of her fears and overcame them while not overcoming some of her prejudices about indigenous people and immigrants.
November 26, 2020
I learned of Mary Schaffer Warren while visiting the Canadian Rockies which she helped explore. When we got home I searched out this book about her life. She was a woman decades ahead of her time untying herself from the social norms of her time and seeking more out of life. This is a very interesting and good read.
November 2, 2024
3.5. I'm going to call this one finished. I choose not to read all her unpublished articles @ the back of the book @ this time. Ms. Warren was full of opinions & contradictions, but her life & accomplishments were significant. I enjoyed learning about her & the Canadian Rockies.
October 9, 2025
I just recently was in the Canadian Rockies and wanted something to help me remember the trip. This book was wonderful, Mary is so inspiring. I wish I could have known her and spent some time with her.
July 27, 2017
Solid, enjoyable read. I like that the author painted a well rounded picture of Mary.
May 17, 2022
I read this to gain insight into the early explorers in the Canadian Rockies. Informative, not riveting.
February 23, 2012
Page 35:
..."the ordinary woman travels much better in a Pullman than with a pack train, and is much more efficient in parlor adventures than on long hard trails; for a trail appears much more flowery and poetic in print and picture than in reality. A wild country is an inhospitable country, and tries the intruder"s mettle in a thousand unexpected ways. While only a small percentage of seemingly sturdy men are fit for wild places, there are a hundred men to one woman whom could possibly 'make good' in wilderness expeditions. With men, the fault is in the "yellow streak" which civilized life does not readily betray; with women, it is the natural timidity, fastidiousness and love of ease."
Page 72:
"Lake Louise is a pearl, Lake Maligne is a whole string of pearls."
"Their search for signs of others revealed not a tepee-pole, not a charred stick, not even tracks of game; just masses of flowers, the lap-lap of the waters on the shore, the occasional reverberating roar of an avalanche, and [their] own voices, stilled by a nameless Presence."
Page 105:
With the parks commissioner and several other civil servants behind the cause, few were surprised when a June 14, 1914, order-in-council enlarged Jasper Park to 4,400 square miles including Maligne Lake.
This is the story of Mary Schaffer Warren the first non-Native woman to explore vast areas of the Canadian Rockies.
I just discovered this magnificent book in a coffee shop in Lake Maligne during my visit to the Rockies last August, 2011. I will add my own pictures of this Lake later on.
..."the ordinary woman travels much better in a Pullman than with a pack train, and is much more efficient in parlor adventures than on long hard trails; for a trail appears much more flowery and poetic in print and picture than in reality. A wild country is an inhospitable country, and tries the intruder"s mettle in a thousand unexpected ways. While only a small percentage of seemingly sturdy men are fit for wild places, there are a hundred men to one woman whom could possibly 'make good' in wilderness expeditions. With men, the fault is in the "yellow streak" which civilized life does not readily betray; with women, it is the natural timidity, fastidiousness and love of ease."
Page 72:
"Lake Louise is a pearl, Lake Maligne is a whole string of pearls."
"Their search for signs of others revealed not a tepee-pole, not a charred stick, not even tracks of game; just masses of flowers, the lap-lap of the waters on the shore, the occasional reverberating roar of an avalanche, and [their] own voices, stilled by a nameless Presence."
Page 105:
With the parks commissioner and several other civil servants behind the cause, few were surprised when a June 14, 1914, order-in-council enlarged Jasper Park to 4,400 square miles including Maligne Lake.
This is the story of Mary Schaffer Warren the first non-Native woman to explore vast areas of the Canadian Rockies.
I just discovered this magnificent book in a coffee shop in Lake Maligne during my visit to the Rockies last August, 2011. I will add my own pictures of this Lake later on.
November 17, 2015
A fascinating story of one of those people who should be in history books but aren't. I loved hearing about BC when it was still wild and the people that explored it.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews