Dorothy Duncan (1903 – April 22, 1957), American writer and artist, won the

Governor General's Award for English-language non-fiction The Governor General's Award for English-language non-fiction is a Canadian literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian writer for a non-fiction book written in English. Since 1987 it is one of fourteen Governor General's Awards for Litera ...

in 1946 for her book ''Partner in Three Worlds''. Born in East Orange, New Jersey in 1903 to Dorothy and Edwin L. Duncan, Dorothy Duncan grew up in the Chicago area and suffered from

rheumatic fever Rheumatic fever (RF) is an inflammatory disease that can involve the heart, joints, skin, and brain. The disease typically develops two to four weeks after a streptococcal throat infection. Signs and symptoms include fever, multiple painful jo ...

which limited her physical abilities in later years. She earned a Bachelor of Science at Northwestern University in 1925 and worked in a variety of small businesses in Chicago. During a return journey from Europe in 1932, Duncan met Hugh MacLennan on board the

SS Pennland SS ''Pennland'' was a transatlantic ocean liner that was launched as ''Pittsburgh'' in Ireland in 1920 and renamed ''Pennland'' in 1926. She had a succession of UK, German and Dutch owners and operators. In 1940 she was converted into a troopsh ...

. They married in 1936 and settled in Montreal. Duncan wrote several semi-autographical works describing her encounters with Canadian culture before her health began to limit her activities in the late 1940s. Her award-winning ''Partner in Three Worlds'' was a biography of Jan Rieger, a Czech-Canadian soldier who fought in both World Wars. Duncan died on Easter Day in 1957 of cancer.

Works

* ''You Can Live in an Apartment'' (1939) * ''Here's to Canada!'' (1941) * ''Bluenose: A Portrait of Nova Scotia'' (1942) * ''Partner in Three Worlds'' (1944)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Dorothy 1903 births 1957 deaths 20th-century American women writers 20th-century Canadian women writers Governor General's Award-winning non-fiction writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century Canadian non-fiction writers Canadian women non-fiction writers American expatriate writers in Canada American emigrants to Canada 20th-century American biographers American women biographers Canadian biographers