Recent Class Notes

Books and Beyond

  • Cover of Becoming Green Gables, The Diary of Myrtle Webb and her famous farmhouse. Alan Maceachern

    Anne of Green Gables series. Becoming Green Gables

    Alan MacEachern, MA’91, PhD’97

    Imagine living in the home that was the inspired setting for Lucy M. Montgomery’s famous Green Gables in her novels about Anne. This was the reality for Myrtle Webb, Montgomery’s cousin, who lived in the Cavendish, P.E.I., farmhouse featured in the Anne of Green Gables series. Becoming Green Gables by biographer Alan MacEachern, MA’91, PhD’97, provides a glimpse of what it was like to live in such a literary-famous place. The diary also tells how fame eventually upends the Webb family when they are faced with expropriation and forced to move. A companion website contains digital scans, photos, and more. Becoming Green Gables is available from McGill-Queen’s University Press.

  • After the Wallpaper Music. Jean Mills

    After the Wallpaper Music

    Jean Mills, Artsci’78, MA’80

    We’ve all experienced what it’s like to be pulled in different directions. For a child, that experience can seem irreversibly consequential. In After the Wallpaper Music, Flora, a 12-year-old violinist, has to choose between friends competing in a battle of the bands. Author Jean Mills, Artsci’78, MA’80, explores empathy for outsiders, friendship, and being true to oneself in this novel for ages eight to 12. The author is an accomplished musician, and it’s no surprise that her book includes the score for her original song, Time is a Fickle Friend. Publishers Weekly says that “poignant life lessons and a focus on the emotions evoked by music permeate this soulful novel.” After the Wallpaper Music is available from Pajama Press.

  • The Adaptable Country: How Canada Can Survive the Twenty-First Century. Alasdair S. Roberts

    The Adaptable Country: How Canada Can Survive the Twenty-First Century

    Alasdair S. Roberts, Artsci’87

    In the 21st century, Canada’s democracy is unprepared to meet shocks resulting from regional conflicts, climate change, and technology. In The Adaptable Country: How Canada Can Survive the Twenty-First Century, Alasdair S. Roberts, Artsci’87, examines how Canada’s politicians and leaders, as well as technological changes affecting journalism and a lack of agility within the public service, have made the country less adaptable. The author reminds readers that a country that respects diversity and human rights can also respond well to existential threats. The Adaptable Country: How Canada Can Survive the Twenty-First Century is available from McGill-Queen’s University Press.

  • Enduring Work: Experiences with Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Catherine Connelly

    Enduring Work: Experiences with Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program

    Catherine Connelly, MSc’00, PhD’04

    Canada relies on thousands of temporary workers – workers who are vulnerable to abuse. Catherine Connelly, MSc’00, PhD’04, looks at their experiences in Enduring Work: Experiences with Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Her book includes various forms of mistreatment, from the perspective of organizational behaviour and human resources management, and she also includes employers’ perspectives, distinguishing between those who follow the rules and those who don’t. Enduring Work: Experiences with Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program is available from McGill-Queen’s University Press.

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