Susanna Moodie, née Strickland (6 December 1803 – 8 April 1885) was a British-Canadian author who wrote about her experiences as a settler in Canada. Moodie, younger sister of Catharine Parr Traill and Agnes Strickland, was one of a family of writers. She wrote her first children's book in 1822, and published other children's stories in London, including books about Spartacus and Jugurtha. In London she was also involved in the anti-slavery movement. On 4 April 1831, she married John Moodie, a retired officer who had served in the Napoleonic Wars. In 1832, with her husband and daughter, Moodie emigrated to Canada. The family settled on a farm, in Douro township, near Peterborough, Upper Canada, where her brother Samuel worked as a surveyor. Moodie continued to write in Canada and her letters and journals contain valuable information about life in the colony. She observed life in what was then the backwoods of Ontario, including native customs, relations between the Canadian population and recent American, the strong sense of community and the communal work known as "bees", the climate, and the wildlife. She suffered through the economic depression in 1836, and her husband served in the militia against William Lyon Mackenzie in the Upper Canada Rebellion in 1837. As a middle class Englishwoman Moodie did not particularly enjoy "the bush", as she called it. She and her husband moved to Belleville in 1840, which she referred to as "the clearings". Here she described urban life, including religion, art, and education, especially as compared to relative lack of these things in "the bush". She studied the Family Compact and became sympathetic to the moderate reformers led by Robert Baldwin, while remaining critical of radical reformers such as William Lyon Mackenzie. This caused problems for her husband, who shared her views, but, as sheriff of Belleville, had to work with members and supporters of the Family Compact.
the dying hunter to his dog
Lie down -- lie down! -- my noble hound,
That joyful bark give o'er;
It wakes the lo...[read poem]
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That joyful bark give o'er;
It wakes the lo...
on a favourite cat, drowned in a tub of gold fishes
'Twas on a lofty vase's side,
Where China's gayest art had dyed
The azure flowers that b...[read poem]
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Where China's gayest art had dyed
The azure flowers that b...
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