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Traill, Catharine Parr, 1802-1899We have 5 books for this author.Catharine Parr Traill, née Strickland (9 January 1802 – 29 August 1899) was a British author who wrote about life as a settler in Canada. An older sister of Susanna Moodie, Traill was one began writing children's books in 1818, after the death of her father. Her early work, such as Disobedience, or Mind What Mama Says (1819), and "Happy Because Good", were written for children, and often dwell on the benefits of obedience to one's parents. A prolific author, until her marriage she averaged one book per year. In 1832, she married to Thomas Traill, a retired officer of the Napoleonic Wars and a friend of her sister's husband John Moodie, despite objections from her family (aside from Susanna). Soon after their marriage they left for Canada, settling near Peterborough, Upper Canada, where her brother Samuel was a surveyor. She described her new life in letters and journals, and collected these into The Backwoods of Canada (1836), which continues to be read as an important source of information about early Canada. She describes everyday life in the community, the relationship between Canadians, Americans, and natives, as well as the climate and wildlife. More observations were included in a novel, Canadian Crusoes (1851). She also collected information concerning the skills necessary for a new settler, published in The Female Emigrant's Guide (1854), later retitled The Canadian Settler's Guide. After suffering through the depression of 1836, her husband Thomas joined the militia in 1837 to fight against the Upper Canada Rebellion. In 1840, dissatisfied with life in "the backwoods", the Traills and the Moodies both moved to the city of Belleville. While Susanna was more concerned with the differences between rural and urban life, Catharine spent her years in Belleville writing about the natural environment. She often sketched the plant life of Upper Canada, publishing Canadian Wild Flowers (1865) and Studies of Plant Life in Canada (1885). She died in Lakefield, Ontario in 1899. Catharine Parr Traill College, a campus of Trent University in Peterborough, is named for her. Bibliography
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This biographical information was gathered from the Catharine_Parr_Traill page, courtesy of the Wikipedia project. BooksThe Backwoods of Canada Being Letters From The Wife of an Emigrant Officer, Illustrative of the Domestic Economy of British AmericaCanadian Crusoes In the Forest Or, pictures of life and scenery in the woods of Canada Lady Mary and her Nurse Lost in the Backwoods |
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