Ethel Wilson

Born in South Africa and raised until age ten in Britain, Ethel Wilson is best known as one of the first regional Canadian writers to capture in intimate detail the beauty of British Columbia, Canada. Her short stories and novels were widely praised for her succinct and effective prose style, described by some critics as telegraphic. Despite her artistic achievements, Wilson was consistently modest in her claims about the value of her own work. Her scepticism concerning the value of national literature and creative writing classes produced some controversy in a time when the institution of Canadian literature struggled for articulation and recognition as a legitimate cultural form on both the national and international level.