Sweet Canadian Girls Abroad: A Transnational History of Stage and Screen Actresses

In the late 19th century, Canadian women became professional actresses, appearing in Canada, the US, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand. Sweet Canadian Girls Abroad explores the lives of these forgotten women, examining their childhoods, work experiences, and contributions to popular culture. It demonstrates how actresses evolved in a changing theatre landscape and how they adapted to new challenges, bringing their craft to new media. The book highlights the careers of Margaret Bannerman, Beatrice Lillie, Margaret Anglin, Julia Arthur, and Frances Doble, emphasizing the importance of theatre to Canadian women's history and Canada's place in a transnational world.

Format: Paperback / softback
Publication date: 18 August 2022
Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press

By the late 19th century, Canadian women had established themselves as professional actresses, performing on stages across Canada, the United States, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand. Their contributions to theatrical networks were significant, shaping transnational middle-class culture.

In her book, Sweet Canadian Girls Abroad: Feminist Collective Biography, Cecilia Morgan delves into the lives of these remarkable women, who, despite their fame during their lifetimes, have often been overlooked. Through a feminist collective biography approach, Morgan explores the childhoods, work experiences, touring adventures, and managerial roles of these "sweet girls." She examines the plays they performed, the celebrity they enjoyed, and how they conveyed messages about race, empire, and white identity in popular culture.

Spanning from the 1870s to the 1940s, Morgan's book showcases how actresses evolved within a period of change in the theatre. She explores how they adapted to new challenges and embraced new media. The book pays particular attention to the careers of Margaret Bannerman, Tony Award-winner Beatrice Lillie, Margaret Anglin, Julia Arthur, and Frances Doble, among many others. It explores how being an actress abroad became both a work and a profession for Canadian women.

Sweet Canadian Girls Abroad is a meticulously researched and richly illustrated work that makes a compelling argument for the importance of theatre in shaping Canadian women's history and our understanding of Canada in a transnational world. Through its detailed narratives and extensive illustrations, the book provides a valuable contribution to the field of women's studies and theatre history.

Weight: 656g
Dimension: 227 x 152 x 31 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780228011385