Extraordinary Passages

An engaging and authoritative literary biography depicting the courageous life and turbulent times of Margaret Duley, Newfoundland's first internationally acclaimed novelist.

Margot I. Duley received a B.A.(Hons) from Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, an M.A. from Duke University, and a Ph.D. in British Imperial and South Asian history from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. She is Professor Emerita of History and Women's Studies, Eastern Michigan University, and Dean Emerita, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Springfield. Her interests include the history of women's movements, especially India, the United States and Newfoundland, and international women's alliances. She is co-editor and chief contributor to the Cross-Cultural Study of Women, and author of Where Once Our Mothers Stood We Stand: Women's Suffrage in Newfoundland 1890-1925, studies of Armine Gosling, the Newfoundland suffrage leader, Nurse Mona Loder, who served in France throughout World War

"In this vivid and sensitive portrayal, Duley combines historical research, literary analysis, and family lore to trace the life of an important Newfoundland writer. In doing so she also tells a tale of the island Margaret Duley loved and the currents that buffeted it throughout the tumultuous twentieth century."

Terry Bishop-Stirling:

"At once analytical and personal, this engaging study of Margaret Duley’s life and writing is a biography of great breadth and depth."

Bert Riggs:

“No one who reads this masterpiece will ever doubt Margaret Duley’s well-earned place of honour in the Newfoundland literary canon.”

Carol Bruneau, Atlantic Books Today:

“Margot Duley…follows in her aunt’s footsteps, blending erudition and a gift for crafting a riveting story. [This] biography provides intimate insights into the shaping of a writer who never let church, empire, and patriarchy dampen her feminist, ani-war spirit.”

Anita Best:

"A fascinating glimpse into the life of a literary trailblazer in the context of twentieth-century Newfoundland."