Swamp Angel

Ethel Wilson lived over ninety years, most of them in Vancouver, B.C., and many of them as a self-described “doctor’s wife,” but starting when she was nearly sixty, she published a handful of books, including this slim wonder of a novel from 1954, that have continued to find readers in Canada and beyond. She has a lovely, ironic touch, a great eye for people, and an appreciation of the beauties of the B.C. interior, but what makes this book particularly wonderful is its main character, Maggie Lloyd. When the story begins, Maggie goes by the name of her feckless husband, but quickly she reclaims her former identity and a freedom she once had too, making her way to a lake north of Kamloops where her thrilling competence can find its true expression. It’s a story full of both surprises and satisfactions, a little gem as enjoyable to reread as it is to discover for the first time.