Many Canadian women fiction writers have become justifiably famous. But what about women who have written non-fiction?
When Anne Innis Dagg set out on a personal quest to make such non-fiction authors better known, she expected to find just a few dozen. To her delight, she unearthed 473 writers who have produced over 674 books.
These women describe not only their country and its inhabitants, but a remarkable variety of other subjects: from the story of transportation to the legacy of Canadian missionary activity around the world. While most of the writers lived in what is now Canada, other authors were British or American travellers who visited Canada throughout the years and reported on what they found here.
This compendium has brief biographies of all these women, short descriptions of their books, and a comprehensive index of their books’ subject matters.
The Feminine Gaze: A Canadian Compendium of Non-Fiction Women Authors and Their Books, 1836-1945 will be an invaluable research tool for women’s studies and for all who wish to supplement the male gaze on Canada’s past.

Anne Innis Dagg earned a biology degree from the University of Toronto and a PhD in animal behaviour from the University of Waterloo. She is the author of The Feminine Gaze: A Canadian Compendium of Non-Fiction Women Authors and Their Books, 1836-1945 (2001) and Pursuing Giraffe: A 1950s Adventure (2005), both published by WLU Press, and many other books. The Woman Who Loves Giraffes (2018) is a documentary about her life’s work.

Anne Innis Dagg's profile page

• Short-listed, Canadian Women's Studies Association Book Award

This book provides valuable insight into the diversity and amount of non-fiction writing produced by women over the one-hundred-and-nine-year focus of the collection....fascinating and readable beyond the scope of a standard reference book....Ultimately, The Feminine Gaze is, and will be, a good source for historians of Canadian women's writing and will provide a broader and more comprehensive context for those interested in the history of women's varied and often surprising participation in Canadian culture.

Karen E. Macfarlane, Mount Saint Vincent University, Atlantis, 29:1, 2004 September