Encyclopedia:
Carol Shields,
Category:Books by Carol Shields,
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Carol Shields (ophthalmologist)
Carol Ann Shields (née
Warner),
CC ,
OM ,
D.Litt. ,
LL.D ,
FRSC (
June 2,
1935 –
July 16,
2003) was an
American-born
Canadian author.
Born in
Oak Park,
Illinois, she studied at
Hanover College (where she became a member of the
Alpha Delta Pi sorority), the
University of Exeter in
England, and the
University of Ottawa, where she received an
MA.
In 1956, while on a college exchange visit to
Scotland, she met a Canadian engineering student, Donald Hugh Shields. The couple married in 1957 and moved to Canada, where they had five children and Shields became a Canadian citizen. Her husband, who became a professor of
civil engineering, is reported to have said of their meeting and their long and happy marriage, "In engineering, once you've found a woman, that's it. The job's over".
In 1973, Shields became editorial assistant for the journal
Canadian Slavonic Papers. In 1977, she became a professor at the University of Ottawa, where she stayed for a year. She later taught at the
University of British Columbia and travelled around the country. In 1980, she settled in
Winnipeg,
Manitoba. There, Shields became professor of
English at the
University of Manitoba. In 1996, she became chancellor of the
University of Winnipeg. In 2000, Shields and her husband moved to
Victoria,
British Columbia, where she died of
breast cancer http://www.nwpassages.com/author_profile.asp?au_id=1234 at age 68.
Shields was the author of several novels and short story collections, including
The Orange Fish (1989),
Swann (1987),
Various Miracles (1985),
Happenstance (1980), and
The Republic of Love (1992). She was the recipient of a
Canada Council Major Award, two National Magazine Awards, the 1990
Marian Engel Award, the
Canadian Author's Award, and a
CBC short story award. She was appointed as an officer of the
Order of Canada in 1998 and was elevated to companion of the Order in 2002. Shields was also a fellow of the
Royal Society of Canada and a member of the
Order of Manitoba.
The Stone Diaries (1993) won the 1995
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the
1993 Governor General's Award, the only book to have ever received both awards. It was nominated for the
National Book Critics Circle Award and the 1993
Booker Prize, and was named one of the best books of the year by
Publishers Weekly and a "Notable Book" by
The New York Times Book Review. She won the 1998
Orange Prize for Fiction for the novel
Larry's Party (1997).
Her last novel,
Unless (2002), was nominated for the 2002
Giller Prize, the Governor General's Award, the Booker Prize and the 2003 Orange Prize for Fiction. It was awarded the
Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. She also wrote a biography of
Jane Austen.
Shields was noted for her gentle, witty yet penetrating insights into human nature. Her most famous works examined the lives of regular people, depicting a profound and universal humanity in even the most ordinary moments of her characters' lives.
Bibliography
Novels
*
Small Ceremonies, 1976
*
The Box Garden, 1977
*
Happenstance, 1980
*
A Fairly Conventional Woman, 1982
*
Swann: A Mystery, 1987 (UK title:
Mary Swann)
*
A Celibate Season, 1991 (with
Blanche Howard)
*
The Republic of Love, 1992
*
The Stone Diaries, 1993 (winner of the
Governor General's Award and the
Pulitzer Prize)
*
Larry's Party, 1997 (winner of the
Orange Prize,
National Book Critics Circle Award, and the
Prix de Livre)
*
Unless, 2002 (winner of the
Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize)
Short stories
*
Various Miracles, 1985
*
The Orange Fish, 1989
*
Dressing Up for the Carnival, 2000
*
Collected Stories, 2004
Poetry
*
Others, 1972
*
Intersect, 1974
*
Coming to Canada, 1992
Plays
*
Departures and Arrivals, 1990
*
Thirteen Hands, 1993
*
Fashion Power Guilt and the Charity of Families, 1995 (with Catherine Shields)
*
Anniversary: A Comedy, 1998 (with David Williamson)
*
Women Waiting*
Duet, 2003
Criticism
*
Susanna Moodie: Voice and Vision, 1976
Biography
*
Jane Austen, 2001
Anthologies
*
Dropped Threads: What We aren't Told, 2001 (edited with Marjorie Anderson)
*
Dropped Threads: More of What We aren't Told, 2003 (edited with Marjorie Anderson)
External links
*
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,60-748725,00.html Times Obituary*
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/magazine/story/0,11913,706289,00.html Observer Interview with Carol Shields*
http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,6109,1000419,00.html Guardian Obituary*
http://www.cbc.ca/news/obit/shields_carol/ CBC Obituary*
http://www.mbwriter.mb.ca/mapindex/s_profiles/shields_c.html Profile in the Manitoba Author Publication IndexShields, CarolShields, CarolShields, CarolShields, CarolShields, CarolShields, CarolShields, CarolShields, CarolShields, CarolShields, CarolShields, CarolShields, CarolShields, CarolShields, Carolfr:Carol Shieldsfi:Carol Shields