Moodie, Susanna (1803–1885)

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Moodie, Susanna (1803–1885)

British-born Canadian writer, the youngest of England's literary Strickland sisters. Name variations: Susanna Strickland; Susanna Strickland Moodie. Born Susanna Strickland on December 6, 1803, in Suffolk, England; died on April 8, 1885, in Toronto, Canada; sixth daughter of Thomas Strickland (a retired manager of Greenland Dock) and Elizabeth (Homer) Strickland; sister of writers Agnes Strickland (1796–1874), Elizabeth Strickland (1794–1875), Jane Margaret Strickland (1800–1888), Catherine Parr Traill (1802–1899), and Samuel Strickland; had no formal education; married John Wedderburn Dunbar Moodie (a writer and officer), in April 1831; children: seven, two of whom died young.

Began literary career with sisters following father's death (1818); wrote sketches, stories, poems, and moral and historical stories for children, published in periodicals of the day; met Thomas Pringle, who introduced her to a group of London writers (1820s); submitted short sketches to La Belle Assemble (1827–29); emigrated with husband to Canada (1832); during eight years of pioneer life in Ontario submitted material to American, Canadian, and English journals; a principal contributor to Montreal's Literary Garland (1838–50); with husband, edited The Victoria Magazine (1847–48); published successful Roughing It in the Bush (1852) and Life in the Clearings (1853); followed with Mark Hurdlestone (1853) and Flora Lyndsay (1854); published last novel (1875).

Selected writings:

Happy Because Good (Dean, n.d.); The Little Prisoner; or, Passion and Patience (Dean & Munday, n.d.); The Little Quaker; or, The Triumph of Virtue (Cole, n.d.); Profession and Principle (Dean & Munday, n.d.); Rowland Massingham (Dean & Munday, n.d.); Spartacus, A Roman Story (Newman, 1822); Hugh Latimer; or, The Schoolboy's Friendship (Newman, 1828); (with Agnes Strickland) Patriotic Songs (Green & Soho, 1830); Enthusiasm; and Other Poems (Smith & Elder, 1831); (editor) The History of Mary Prince (Westley, 1831); (editor) Negro Slavery Described by a Negro: Being the Narrative of Ashton Warner, a Native of St. Vincent's (Smith & Elder, 1831); (editor, with J.W.D. Moodie) The Victoria Magazine (September 1847–August 1848, collected edition, University of British Columbia Press, 1968); The Little Black Pony; and Other Stories (Collins, 1850); Roughing It in the Bush; or, Life in Canada (2 vols., Bentley, 1852, revised, Hunter, Rose, 1871, modern edition, McClelland & Stewart, 1962); Life in the Clearings Versus the Bush (Bentley, 1853, modern edition, Macmillan, 1959); Mark Hurdlestone (2 vols., Bentley, 1853); Flora Lyndsay; or, Passages in an Eventful Life (2 vols., Bentley, 1854); Matrimonial Speculations (Bentley, 1854); Geoffrey Moncton; or, The Faithless Guardian (DeWitt & Davenport, 1855, republished as The Monctons, A Novel, 2 vols., Bentley, 1856); The World Before Them, A Novel (3 vols., Bentley, 1868); George Leatrim; or, The Mother's Test (Hamilton, 1875).

Writer Susanna Moodie was born Susanna Strickland on December 6, 1803, in Suffolk, England, the sixth daughter of Thomas Strickland, a retired manager of the Thames River's Greenland Dock, and Elizabeth Homer Strickland . Several of her siblings would also grow up to become writers; Agnes Strickland and Elizabeth Strickland wrote popular biographies of several royal figures, while Catherine Parr Traill and Samuel Strickland wrote about natural history. Although Moodie had no formal education, she acquired knowledge from her father's extensive library and was tutored by her older sisters.

Moodie began her writing career with her sisters in 1818, following their father's death. The sisters wrote short sketches, stories, and poems in addition to pieces on natural history and fables for children. She also became friends with several people of unorthodox religious views—Quakers and Dissenters—and converted from the Anglican religion, becoming a Congregationalist. Her interest in religion is apparent in much of her poetry and work for children, and can be seen in the devices of religious conversion and deathbed repentances in her fiction. Her career development was influenced by several people, among them James Bird, a Suffolk poet, writer Mary Russell Mitford , and writer and editor Thomas Harral, who gave her the opportunity to publish in La Belle Assemble. The most influential, however, was Thomas Pringle, secretary of the Anti-Slavery Society. Through him, she became acquainted with a number of London writers and more deeply concerned with humanitarian issues of the day. Two projects she undertook while living in Pringle's home were transcriptions of slave narratives: The History ofMary Prince and Negro Slavery Described by a Negro: Being the Narrative of Ashton Warner, a Native of St. Vincent's. Both edited narratives were published in 1831.

Moodie collaborated with her sister Agnes on Patriotic Songs in 1830 and published her own volume of poetry, Enthusiasm; and Other Poems, in 1831. She married Lt. John Wedder-burn Dunbar Moodie, a writer and officer, in April 1831, and in July 1832 they emigrated to Canada, where they purchased a farm in Ontario. Within 18 months, they moved to a backwoods area near Peterborough to be closer to her siblings Catherine and Samuel. The Moodies would spend eight years trying to make a success of pioneer life, to which neither was suited. Her husband served in the militia, and in 1839 was appointed sheriff of the Victoria District. In 1840, the family moved to Belleville, Ontario.

During their sojourn in the backwoods, Moodie wrote and submitted several items, most of which was poetry, to various American, Canadian, and English journals. In late 1838, she began to write for the Montreal periodical Literary Garland and soon became one of its principal contributors, publishing items for the next 12 years. In 1847 and 1848, the Moodies together edited The Victoria Magazine. They wrote most of the contents themselves, but Strickland siblings Agnes, Samuel, and Catherine also contributed.

The Literary Garland folded in 1851, and Moodie began to pull into book form several sketches from a series on the difficulty of primitive backwoods living. The result was published in 1852 as Roughing It in the Bush, now considered both her most significant book and an important depiction of early immigrant life in Canada. It sold well and was reprinted several times, although Moodie was also castigated in some quarters for the unvarnished, and at times unflattering, picture she painted of life in the new land. (Because the book, which in its original version included three chapters by her husband, bore little stylistic resemblance to her previous work, some have suggested that it was perhaps written entirely by her husband. Most critics, however, believe that it was written by Moodie herself.)

Life in the Clearings Versus the Bush, a sequel to Roughing It, was published in 1853, followed by Mark Hurdlestone (1853) and Flora Lyndsay; or, Passages in an Eventful Life (1854). All three have met with favorable criticism. Moodie's last four novels, Matrimonial Speculations (1854), Geoffrey Moncton; or, The Faithless Guardian (1855), The World Before Them (1867), and George Leatrim; or, The Mother's Test (1875), did not fare so well, and are now little read. Her husband lost his position as sheriff in 1863 and was unable to find other employment thereafter, forcing Moodie to support the family through her writing and by painting and selling pictures of flowers. Following her husband's death in 1868, Moodie lived off and on with two of her children. She died in Toronto in 1885. In 1972 Canadian writer Margaret Atwood published The Journals of Susanna Moodie, a collection of poems that present a microcosm of the Canadian experience through events from Moodie's life.