Marjorie Elliott Wilkins Campbell (1901 – November 23, 1986) was a Canadian writer of history and historical fiction. She won two

Governor General's Literary Awards The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

for the best works of the year, one of the two 1950 non-fiction awards for ''The Saskatchewan'' and the Governor General's Award for Juvenile Fiction in 1954 for ''The Nor'Westers''.

Life

Marjorie Elliott Wilkins was born in London, England, to Mary Eleanor Elliott and William Herbert Wilkins. They emigrated to the

Qu'Appelle Valley The Qu'Appelle River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba that flows east from Lake Diefenbaker in south-western Saskatchewan to join the Assiniboine River in Manitoba, just south of Lake of the Prairies, near t ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

in 1904. Marjorie was educated in

Swift Current Swift Current is the fifth largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is situated along the Trans Canada Highway west of Moose Jaw, and east of Medicine Hat, Alberta. Swift Current grew 6.8% between 2011 and 2016, ending up at ...

and

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. She married Angus Campbell, a surgeon, in 1931 and continued to work as a writer and editor. Marjorie Wilkins Campbell began writing in high school for the Swift Current Collegiate Clarion. Prior to publishing novels and biographies focused on Canadian history and exploration, Campbell spent many years as a freelancer and eventually became the editor of ''Magazine Digest'' in Montreal and Women's editor of Canadian Magazine. In addition, Campbell published numerous articles in ''

Chatelaine Chatelaine may refer to: * Chatelaine (chain), a set of short chains on a belt worn by women and men for carrying keys, thimble and/or sewing kit, etc. *Chatelaine (horse), a racehorse * ''Chatelaine'' (magazine), an English-language Canadian wom ...

'', '' Saturday Night'', and ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian perspe ...

''. In 1966, Wilkins Campbell spent nearly four months conducting research in B.C. where she was familiarizing herself with the Fraser River and its surrounding areas, preparing to write a book on explorer; Simon Fraser. In previous years, Wilkins Campbell traveled to various cities throughout North America, Europe and the U.K. researching material for her book, ''No Compromise'', which was published in 1965. Campbell won multiple awards including a $1000

Canada Council The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the federal government's principal i ...

grant and a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

(1959) in the amount of $4500 towards research for a book on fur trader William McGillivray. She served as a consultant for the Ontario Government regarding the restoration of Fort William between 1971 and 1976. Campbell was also a named a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

in 1978. Campbell's final book, a recollection of her mother titled ''The Silent Song of Mary Eleanor,'' was published in 1983. She died in Toronto at the Grace Hospital on November 22, 1986 of lung cancer.

Works

* ''The Soil Is Not Enough'' (1938) * ''The Saskatchewan'' (1950) * ''Ontario'' (1953) * ''The Nor' Westers: The Fight for the Fur Trade'' (1954) * ''The North West Company'' (Macmillan Co. of Canada, 1957) * ''The Face of Canada'' (1959) * ''McGillivray Lord of the Northwest'' (Clarke, Irwin & Co., 1962) * ''No Compromise: The Story of Colonel Baker and the CNIB'' (1965) * Marjorie Wilkins Campbell2

''Push for the Pacific'' (1968) * ''The Savage River: Seventy One Days with Simon Fraser'' (1968) * ''The Fur Trade'' (1968) * ''54-40 or Fight!'' (1973) * ''Northwest to the Sea: A Biography of William McGillivray'' (Clarke, Irwin & Co., 1975). This is a revised version of her biography of McGillivray published in 1962. * ''The Silent Song of Mary Eleanor'' (1983)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Marjorie Wilkins 1901 births 1986 deaths Governor General's Award-winning non-fiction writers 20th-century Canadian women writers Canadian women novelists Canadian biographers 20th-century Canadian novelists Writers from Saskatchewan Members of the Order of Canada Women biographers 20th-century biographers Canadian women non-fiction writers British emigrants to Canada