Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1952-1956 (Creation)
Level of description
Manuscript Collection
Extent and medium
5 boxes
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Margaret Fairley was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1885. She graduated with first class honours from Oxford, and soon thereafter came to Canada. She went to the University of Alberta and obtained her degree. It was in Edmonton that she met her husband, Barker Fairley. The Fairleys were subsequently to settle in Toronto. Fairley edited the following: Spirit of Canadian Democracy (1946), The Selected Writings of William Lyon Mackenzie, 1824-1837 (1960) and Highways to Peace (1961). Between 1952-1956, she also edited a progressive quarterly called New Frontiers. She was an active member of the Communist Party. Fairley died in 1968. In 1972, the city dedicated the corner of Brunswick and Ulster Streets as the Margaret Fairley Park in recognition of her contribution to the life of Canada.
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Donation, 1972
Content and structure area
Scope and content
The Fairley papers consist mainly of research notes and contributions to the magazine New Frontiers. There is also material for an unpublished book titled With Our Hands, about the writings of Canadian pioneers.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Material may be requested in person at the Fisher Library Reference Desk, or in advance using our online stack retrieval request form: https://fisher.library.utoronto.ca/stack-retrieval-request
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
- English