Overview

Elizabeth Smith Shortt was one of the first three women to obtain a medical degree in Canada, and her husband, Adam Shortt, enjoyed a successful career as a professor of politics and economics at Queen's University in Kingston. In 1908 Adam Shortt relocated his family to Ottawa to take up a commission to oversee civil service reform under Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier. There he convinced his superiors that an onsite investigation of four European countries would expedite his effort to improve Canada's bureaucracy, and in June 1911 he and Elizabeth embarked on their trip. This book chronicles their Atlantic crossing and extended visit to England, as well as trips to Switzerland, Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands.The Shortts were generally pleased with England and its values, but Elizabeth was sharply critical of the behaviour of British nurses. Her diaries and letters, here reprinted, critiqued the lands and peoples she visited in Europe. Leading foreign feminists such as Lady Chichester and Mrs. Maud of the Mothers' Union in England sought her advice, as did Alice Salomon in Germany, the corresponding secretary of the International Council of Women. The diaries and letters presented in this volume reveal the multifaceted nature of Adam and Elizabeth Shortt, from public figures to difficult employers to a couple who couldn't help but live beyond their means. Peter E. Paul Dembski's introduction paints a picture of a couple who lived as moderate liberals with occasional conservative or radical views, and who blended science and an adherence to Protestant Christianity into their thinking. Their travel experiences, during a period of building political upheaval, provide a valuable snapshot of pre-First World War European society and culture.

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9781771122252

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...this is an enjoyable and insightful book. The Shorttsswriting shows the cultural and domestic lives of early-twentieth-century professionals,highlighting the interests and worries of an ambitious, important, and interesting couple.Buttressing intellectual history with gender analysis and privileging a womans point ofview are welcome additions to a field and period often dominated by great men. - David Banoub, Dalhousie University. British Journal of Canadian Studies, vol. 31, no. 1

"""...this is an enjoyable and insightful book. The Shorttsswriting shows the cultural and domestic lives of early-twentieth-century professionals,highlighting the interests and worries of an ambitious, important, and interesting couple.Buttressing intellectual history with gender analysis and privileging a womans point ofview are welcome additions to a field and period often dominated by great men."" - David Banoub, Dalhousie University. British Journal of Canadian Studies, vol. 31, no. 1"

Author Information

Peter E. Paul Dembski is an historian with B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Toronto and a Ph.D. from the University of Guelph. He has taught Canadian history at several universities, most recently the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University. His articles have appeared in journals such as Ontario History and scholarly collections such as the Dictionary of Canadian Biography.

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