Largely forgotten and seldom appreciated, Althea Moody, the daughter of a London-based official with the Canadian Pacific Railway, wrote a rarely-cited book that was published in London in 1894: Sh'Atjinkujin: Parts of the Communion Service of the Church of England, Privately Printed for the Use of the Lower Fraser Indians in the All Hallows Mission Chapel, Yale 1891 (London: Darling & Son, 1894). In keeping with her modesty and religious humility, Moody did not allow her name to appear on the title page. Her life nonetheless deserves some attention if only because she was one of the first women to write a book based on her experiences in B.C.

There is no evidence that she was related to an equally obscure B.C. novelist, Irene H. Moody, but little research has ever been undertaken on these little-known authors. The latter published a novel, Delphine of the 'Eighties (London: John Bale, Sons & Danielsson Ltd 1931), set in Ontario, dedicated to the author's mother. A copy was identified by Rolf Maurer and saved for posterity at Vancouver Co-op Bookstore in 2020. The story concerns the struggle of a winsome girl named Delphine who wishes to earn the respect and love of her distant, business-minded father who was disappointed because she was not born as a son. Her mother has French Canadian heritage so Delphine Avery is intended to serve as a distinctly and authentic Canadian, presumably for British readers. "Delphine is a most interesting blending of the English and the French characteristics... but which dominates?" remarks one of the characters. The writing is uncomplicated and seemingly meant for teenage readers in the vein of Anne of Green Gables. Every page is riddled with exclamation marks as we follow the emotional life of the plucky heroine through mostly minor vicissitudes.  Delphine overcomes illness and visits Guernsey in the Channel Islands. Some of the dialogue about Indigenous people would be lambasted as offensive by present-day readers (page 195). It is easy to dismiss the novel as simplistic and dated, but the intentions of the novelist are surely progressive. After a taste of her Francophone heritage in Guernsey, Delphine returns to Ontario on a ship from Liverpool, a journey of ten days. The Averys move into a new home where Delphine spends more time with her father. "You're a great little helper, Delphine," he says, "almost as good as a boy."  The conversation continues. "Won't I ever be as good as a boy, father?" He replies: "You may be as good in many ways, Pet, but there are things a boy can do that a girl can't, you know." Not to be deterred, Delphine replies, "Then I'll just have to be better than a boy!" Delphine resolves to be a doctor and bring babies to their mothers. When her father becomes feverish and gravely ill with "the grip," she proves herself to be "good as a boy" when she overcomes her fear and rides a huge horse named Satan to get help from the neighborhood doctor. When he recovers, the brusque father finally expresses his gratitude, putting his arm around her, saying, "You're as good as a boy, any day!... Better than a boy, my daughter, better than any boy."

Irene H. Moody was also the author of a novel Wraiths (Macmillan Company of Canada, at St. Martin's House, 1934) and Lava (Toronto: Macmillan, 1940). As a member of the Vancouver Poetry Society, she published a volume called Attar of Song and Other Poems (Toronto: Macmillan, 1936) including “After the Night” and "But Not the End."

According to Thompson Rare Books:

"Irene Helen Hawkins Moody [1879-1958] was born in St. Thomas, Ontario to parents who emigrated from the Island of Guernsey, she was educated at the St. Thomas Collegiate Institute, Alma College, and the Curry School of Expression. Upon her 1905 marriage to Dr. William Moody (1881-1912), she moved to Vancouver. In 1936 Irene married Frank Bernard Lewis (1876-1943), a widower businessman who had built his fortune in Revelstoke. Continuing to publish as "Irene Moody" throughout and following her second marriage, she busied herself with clubs and philanthropic endeavors, including two terms as chair of the Vancouver Board of School Trustees; service with the British Columbia School Trustees Association; and membership on the advisory council of women to the War Committee of Cabinet during World War I. She was active in the Canadian Authors Association, the Vancouver Poetry Society, and the general cultural life of that city. Her literary work included one novel for children and four volumes of verse. Irene Moody died in 1958 in West Vancouver."

BOOKS

[BCBW 2020]