Audiobook

Sowing Seeds in Danny

Nellie McClung

Nellie L. McClung (1873-1951) is a Canadian icon - a feminist, social activist, author, and political leader. When she was a child, she moved to Manitoba with her pioneering family of farmers. As a teacher in rural Manitoba, she was a keen observer of village life at the turn of the century, and her first novel "Sowing Seeds in Danny” (1908) was a poignant snapshot of daily life on the Canadian prairies and a national best-seller, which sold more than 100,000 copies. As a suffragette, she led the campaign for women's enfranchisement, which saw Manitoba become the first province in Canada to grant the vote to women in 1916. By 1918, the same right was granted at the national level, before either the US (1920) or UK (1928). After moving to Alberta, she was elected to that province's legislature in 1921, where she championed children’s health care and women’s rights. As a member of the "famous five" women, her statue now graces the the grounds of the Manitoba legislature, to commemorate the 1929 court challenge, which allowed women to be recognized as “persons” and eligible to sit as federal senators. - Summary by ASharma