Broken Barrier

Born and raised in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, GRACE HELEN MOWAT (1875-1964) was herself descended from Loyalist refugees who established the town in 1783 at the conclusion of the American Revolution. Studying at the Richmond School of Art and Music (London), and at the Womans Art School of the Cooper Union (New York City), Mowat returned to St. Andrews integrating her art training, local materials and the traditional handcraft textile skills of Charlotte County women to develop a highly successful Cottage Craft enterprise. Author of several other books, Mowat published Broken Barrier in 1951, the same year in which she received an honorary degree from the University of New Brunswick.

MARY B. McGILLIVRAY is a professor of English literature at St. Francis Xavier University, where she specializes in Canadian literature. Her area of interest is the literatures and cultures of Canada, with a specific specialty in nineteenth-century and early-twentieth-century literature set in the Maritimes.