My Life as a Dame: The Selected Writings of Christina McCall [Hardcover]

"... risky in its demand that the reader that the reader ride out initial confusion in the faith that it will all tie together. And it does, in ways all the more effective for not being obvious.... find[s] common emotional ground between a near-mythical explorer hero and a modern-day working stiff." -- Calgary Herald

"The volume stands as a resounding testament to a woman who broke new ground in Canadian journalism, forging an artistic narrative style of non-fiction writing that was lively, distinctly Canadian and erudite." -- Vancouver Sun

". . .a collection of columns by Christina McCall. . . My Life As A Dame (Anansi), edited by Stephen Clarkson. . . speak[s] to the place of women in society, skewering their weaknesses (turning on each other) and celebrating their strengths, one of which was to persevere in a world of sexist stereotypes." -- Winnipeg Free Press

"... filled with a selection of McCall's exquisite and prodigious prose.... the tantalizing autobiographical chapters show a writer still brimming with wit and vitality; the completed memoir would have been a formidable one.... a woman in a man's world, she proved capable of tackling with equal acuity the softer subjects assigned to journalists of her gender and serious issues thought beyond her scope. The personal and political wove together seamlessly in her writing, each informing and elevating the other.... able to appreciate her work above all for the tradition of literary quality it advanced.... Let us rally once again around Christina McCall." -- The Globe and Mail

"A nourishing books and a tasty one . . . Fascinating, provocative and great fun to read . . . [My Life as a Dame is] absolutely entrancing . . . " -- Literary Review of Canada

"The writing here, some of which is nearly 40 years old, is as good as anything being produced in this country now, and better than most. . . . examples of fine reportage that also serve as useful reminders of a bygone era." -- Quill & Quire, April 2008

“. . . a wide range of beautifully written articles . . . A testament to McCall’s talent is the number of articles that have stood the test of time.” -- Montreal Gazette

“McCall excels as an observer of people’s habits, attitudes, formative experiences and stratagems. . . . My Life As a Dame is an excellent resource. . . [and McCall] surely deserves her reputation as one of the best. . . . [T]here’s something uniquely revealing in frank, impassioned prose like McCall’s. For other generations of Canadians, it is worthwhile to inherit an understanding of the lives and ideas that are captured in this book.” -- Chronicle Herald

Considered by many to be the best political writer of her generation, Governor General's Award-winning author and journalist Christina McCall was a pioneer for women in journalism and one of the most brilliant minds of her generation. A contemporary of Pierre Berton, Robert Fulford, June Callwood, Peter Gzowski, and Peter C. Newman, McCall helped redefine nonfiction magazine writing as an art form.

For the first time ever, the best of Christina McCall's articles and essays have been collected in one definitive volume, alongside never-before-published excerpts from McCall's unfinished memoirs. Covering topics from the Alberta oil boom to the rise of divorce rates in Canada to in-depth profiles of the Ottawa establishment, this collection showcases the best of McCall's analyses of Canadian society, politics, the media, and women's rights.

Whether skewering the male-dominated world of media culture or analyzing the machinations of Canadian federal politicians, McCall's clear-eyed observations are always laced with insight, compassion, and razor-sharp wit. My Life as a Dame recovers for all of us the voice of one of Canada's most gifted and masterly writers.