Lily Alice Lefevre (5April 185417October 1938) was a Canadian writer whose literary work closely linked her to her hometown of

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. Her book of poems ''Lion's Gate and Other Verses'' (1895) was the first book written by a woman and published by a

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

publisher, Province Publishing. She was born in Kingston,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. As a teenager she received a medal for writing the best poem about a carnival in

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, which continued to be a theme in many of her later poems. Lefevre arrived in Vancouver in 1886 with her husband, a CPR district surgeon Dr. John Lefevre. Her husband died in 1906. In 1889, the title poem of her book first appeared in ''

The Vancouver Daily World ''The Vancouver Daily World'' (also known as ''The Vancouver World'' or simply ''The World'') was a newspaper once published in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was founded in 1888 by John McLagan, the editor of the paper. In 1901, when John McLag ...

'' as ''The Lions' Gateway'', and was published under her

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

, Fleurange. One of Lefevre's sonnets was published in a book of poetry edited by

Lord Dufferin Frederick Temple Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava (21 June 182612 February 1902) was a British public servant and prominent member of Victorian society. In his youth he was a popular figure in the court of Queen Vict ...

who was

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from 1872 to 1878. Lefevre organized the ''

Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire The Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire (IODE) is a women's charitable organization based in Canada. It provides scholarships, bursaries, book prizes, and awards, and pursues other philanthropic and educational projects in various communities ac ...

'' upon the occasion of the

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King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

in 1902. She was co-founder of the

Vancouver Art Gallery The Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) is an art museum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The museum occupies a adjacent to Robson Square in downtown Vancouver, making it the largest art museum in Western Canada by building size. Designed by Franc ...

. In 1934 she donated $5,000 for a scholarship and gold medal to the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

in honor of and to commemorate her husband J.M. Lefevre. Her book ''The Lion's Gate'' was first published in 1895, but was re-launched in 1903 along with ''The Beaver and the Empress''. In 1936, it was again re-printed for the 50th anniversary of the founding of the city of Vancouver. In 1921, ''A Garden By The Sea'' appeared. Her poem ''March on! Canada!'' was set to music by

Harold Craxton Thomas Harold Hunt Craxton (30 April 188530 March 1971) was an English pianist, teacher and composer. Born in London, and growing up in Devizes, Craxton began studying piano with Tobias Matthay and Cuthbert Whitemore in 1907, and made a name for ...

Works

* ''The Lions' Gate And Other Verses'', (1895) * ''The Lions' Gate; and, The Beaver And The Empress'', (1903) * ''A Garden By The Sea, And Other Poems'', (1921) Source:

Anthologies

Works by Lefevre are included in these books: * Garvin, ''Canadian Verse for Boys and Girls'', (1930) * Lighthall, ''Canadian Poems and Lays'', (c1892) * Lighthall, ''Songs of the Great Dominion'', (1889) * Rand, ''Treasury of Canadian Verse'', (1900)

References

External links

*
''The Lions' Gate and Other Verses''
Early Canadiana Online {{DEFAULTSORT:Lefevre, Lily Alice 1854 births 1938 deaths Canadian women poets Writers from Kingston, Ontario 19th-century Canadian poets 19th-century Canadian women writers