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Swamp Angel

Swamp Angel, Ethel Wilson's finest novel (Toronto, 1954), follows Maggie Vardoe's movement from an unhappy marriage toward the vision she gains by re-establishing her own identity.

Swamp Angel, Ethel Wilson's finest novel (Toronto, 1954), follows Maggie Vardoe's movement from an unhappy marriage toward the vision she gains by re-establishing her own identity. Maggie's flight from Vancouver into the BC interior symbolizes her return to the natural world of time, change and mortality. Through serene passages of natural description and quiet evocations of Maggie's strength, Wilson makes her character's transformation seem to arise naturally but also dramatically out of her circumstances; like its protagonist, Swamp Angel moves quietly but with assurance toward its realization.

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