The Stone Angel (New Canadian Library) and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more

Vous voulez voir cette page en français ? Cliquez ici.


or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
or
Amazon Prime Free Trial required. Sign up when you check out. Learn More
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Start reading The Stone Angel (New Canadian Library) on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

The Stone Angel [Paperback]

Margaret Laurence , Adele Wiseman
3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (79 customer reviews)
List Price: CDN$ 14.95
Price: CDN$ 10.79 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 25. Details
You Save: CDN$ 4.16 (28%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca. Gift-wrap available.
Want it delivered Wednesday, May 22? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout.

Book Description

Oct 1 1988 New Canadian library
In her best-loved novel, The Stone Angel, Margaret Laurence introduces Hagar Shipley, one of the most memorable characters in Canadian fiction. Stubborn, querulous, self-reliant – and, at ninety, with her life nearly behind her – Hagar Shipley makes a bold last step towards freedom and independence.

As her story unfolds, we are drawn into her past. We meet Hagar as a young girl growing up in a black prairie town; as the wife of a virile but unsuccessful farmer with whom her marriage was stormy; as a mother who dominates her younger son; and, finally, as an old woman isolated by an uncompromising pride and by the stern virtues she has inherited from her pioneer ancestors.

Vivid, evocative, moving, The Stone Angel celebrates the triumph of the spirit, and reveals Margaret Laurence at the height of her powers as a writer of extraordinary craft and profound insight into the workings of the human heart.


From the Hardcover edition.

Special Offers and Product Promotions


Frequently Bought Together

The Stone Angel + The Diviners + In the Skin of a Lion
Price For All Three: CDN$ 42.52

Some of these items ship sooner than the others. Show details

  • In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 25. Details

  • The Diviners CDN$ 16.57

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 25. Details

  • In the Skin of a Lion CDN$ 15.16

    Usually ships within 2 to 4 weeks.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 25. Details


Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought


Product Details


Product Description

From Amazon

The first of Margaret Laurence's compelling series of novels set in Manawaka, the fictional Scots-Irish community that Laurence created based on her childhood home of Neepawa, Manitoba, is also one of her most enduring. The Stone Angel is the story of Hagar Shipley. Cantankerous, cranky and often befuddled at 90, Hagar isn't ready to give up her independence and go into an old-age home. But she is trapped in a body that is betraying her bit by bit and a mind that overwhelms her with passionate, painful memories.

In this intimate accounting of her life, she recalls her privileged life as the daughter of Manawaka's only merchant, the rebellious spirit that led her to a miserable life as a farm wife, and the devastating death of her favourite child. When her son threatens to put her into a home, she takes matters into her own hands and seeks refuge in an abandoned canning factory. Hagar might be an irascible, vicious, and even vulgar old woman, but her feisty resilience makes her one of the most remarkable and appealing characters in Canadian literature. Laurence's first Manawaka novel, with its unforgettable portrait of old age, brilliantly sets the scene for the next books in the series. --Jeffrey Canton

Review

“One of the most convincing – and the most touching – portraits of an unregenerate sinner.”
Time


From the Hardcover edition.

Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
Search inside this book:

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Hogwash! April 19 2002
Format:Paperback
Though I'm not Canadian, I too feel great shame for those Canadians who dislike Margaret Laurence and have no apparent literary taste. However, I find this book to be absolutely stupendous and absorbing. I have read it 4 times, and it only seems to get better with each read. I am not just saying this.

Never has there been a more realistic and likeable character than Mrs. Hagar Shipley, someone everyone should be more like. Her unabashed honesty is truly heartwarming. If this is not a feel-good story, then I simply don't know what is!! This is the feel-good book of the year.... This is no overstatement.

Yes. It is sad that people die. But if people did so with as much dignity as Hagar, the world would be a better place. And, no, I am not just saying that, again.

Why hasn't this fine novel---this vanguard story--been adapted into movie form? I see the unflappable Glenn Close playing Hagar--with courage and grace. She's divine.

Those who did not like the book likely did not understand its messages. Uninformed readers are the worst.

Was this review helpful to you?
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The Beautiful Story of One Woman's Life April 29 2002
Format:Paperback
The Stone Angel is a book that I felt compelled to read--it is one of the most prestigious titles in the CanLit canon. Unlike many of the "great works of literature" I've read lately, this one didn't disappoint.

The Stone Angel is the story of Hagar Shipley's life, told in her own voice. Hagar is a ninety year old woman living with her son and daughter-in-law. She is rampant with memory. Her struggles for independence are interspliced with vivid recollections of her past.

The narrative voice of The Stone Angel is astounding. Laurence is a master of the simile and provides the reader with beautiful descriptions on nearly every page. At the same time, the narration, from Hagar's lips, constantly provides insight into Hagar and the people that surround her. At times, Laurence is able to tell you more about characters by their grammar than many writers are able to tell you in entire novels. Laurence has a particularly keen sense of diction. Her dialogue reveals mountains of insight about generations gaps, economic divides, and the walls that pride builds.

Overall, this is technically one of the best books I've ever read, and one of the most pleasing.

Was this review helpful to you?
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Writing. Jan 9 2008
Format:Paperback
I, too, was "forced" to read The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence for my 12U English credit. Perhaps not a book I would have discovered on my own this early in my life, I was pleased with the perspective it offered. It is a warning all young people should heed: You get only one chance at this life, make sure you don't spend it like Hagar Shipley did.

The writing style did not get boring. Laurence is a master of the segue.

What compelled me to write a review is not so much the book itself, but some of the other reviewers. One person wrote they were ashamed to be Canadian because they did not like this book and the author is Canadian. What nonsense! A piece of literature being good or bad is objective- it is not a statement on the validity of a nation. Give your head a shake! We should be proud to live in a country where people have the freedom to write and publish whatever they want- rubbish or not.

Read The Stone Angel. It made sense to me.
Was this review helpful to you?
Want to see more reviews on this item?
Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent writing.
Had to read it for a credit in school and found it boring? Maybe such readers cannot grasp anything that is not melodramatic. It is an astonishing book in so many ways. Read more
Published 3 months ago by poprich
3.0 out of 5 stars Not a great version
I was looking for an unabridged version, this is definitely not it!!!! This is a CBC radio version. For an English class it was not very useful.
Published 10 months ago by Erin
5.0 out of 5 stars Every man will cry
This is a powerful story. I read it in my early 20s and it helped me to comprehend the complexity of human relationships.
Published 16 months ago by David Sabine
5.0 out of 5 stars On time, as expected.
I received The Stone Angel quite fast, with the product exactly as described. I would buy again without any doubt from this seller.
Published 18 months ago by Annie
5.0 out of 5 stars Heartbreaking, masterfully written, depicts the reality of life
Here is a book that I probably wouldn't have picked by choice. I read it for a university course and fell in love with it. It is a definite page turner! Read more
Published 21 months ago by Lilieva
5.0 out of 5 stars Stone Angel
One of the best books I've ever read! I'm sorry I waited so long to read her books.
Published on Aug 2 2010 by LenorB
5.0 out of 5 stars A Canadian Classic
The string of poor reviews motivated my review; makes one wonder whether this type of rating system has much validity... Read more
Published on July 3 2008 by B. Keith
5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Stunning
I picked up this novel and read it by choice, so my experience was a pleasurable one unlike some poor saps who were coerced into reading it. Read more
Published on Sep 17 2007 by sainte-carmen
1.0 out of 5 stars Putrid Writing
I read this book in grade 12, before reading literature in my undergrad at university.
It's about a senile old hag as she stumbles around on her way for a medical test,... Read more
Published on Mar 13 2006 by Dano
1.0 out of 5 stars A book that is sorely lacking...
I read this book in one of my classes in Teacher's College and I really disliked it. There are few books that I dislike, but this one ranks highly on that short list. Read more
Published on April 2 2004 by "englishteacher23"
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Feedback


Amazon.ca Privacy Statement Amazon.ca Shipping Information Amazon.ca Returns & Exchanges