No Place Like Home: Diaries And Letters Of Nova Scotia Women, 1771-1938

by Margaret Conrad, Toni Laidlaw, Donna Smyth

These colourful diaries and personal letters provide fascinating insights into the lives of Nova Scotian women in periods of rapid and dramatic historical change.
The editors have discovered a wealth of material chronicling the lives of women since the late-eighteenth century, women with rich and varied life-experiences: missionaries, teachers, office workers, farmers, housekeepers and factory workers, both young and old, rural and urban.
"No Place Like Home" offers immediate, intimate reflections on the remarkable range of experiences enjoyed--and suffered--by Nova Scotia women.

Genres: History

306 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

A specialist in the fields of Atlantic Canada and Women's history, Margaret Rose Conrad held the Canada Research Chair in Atlantic Canada Studies at the University of New Brunswick before retiring in 2009.

Reviews

[Leslie Knowles · Rating 3 out of 5]

While well organized and with short biographies as preface to each diary selection, I would not have purchased this book if I had been able to see the exact dates of the selections included.

This collection begins with introductory notes on the changing life of women over time and a second set of notes on Nova Scotia heritage (facts I admit I had already gleaned in general research). The diaries are broken into 3 sections: Gentlewomen (pre-industrial life), Comers and Goers (transitional period), and New Women (20th century culture). The entries are restricted (for the most part) to a single year per diarist, and five selections per section.

I had hoped for examples of the social life of someone living in the city of Halifax itself, and after 1800 but prior to the War of 1812. Unfortunately, the second example was one of a 16 year ol girl
from November of 1777 to July of 1785 (her entries were sporatic with months between them). The next (belonging to an 18 years old) did not begin until 1815 and the writer lived in the rural area of Colin Grove, near Dartmouth and not in Halifax itself. The entries for the later sections were not within the scope of my research so they were merely skimmed.

To be fair, my personal research into the social life and public events in Halifax during the war years has yielded little to no information about anything other than shipping and war news, death announcments, properties for sale, and a few poet's corners. I had hoped for a bit of gossip in the diaries, but found little other than generic visits-- and none for the years I needed.

All in all, the book did not meet my research needs, but did offer both preliminary and post information about the women and their lives. It serves as a good general introduction about Nova Scotia from the female point of view.

[Christine Naugler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love historical women's diaries - i find the minutiae of daily life in another time fascinating. I particularly love this collection, which includes excerpts from the diaries of my great-grandmother, Mary MacDougall MacDonald, a prolific diarist and a woman with many stories to tell.

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful portraits of womens' lives. The poorest and most hard working were the most interesting and likeable.