Swamp Angel – Ethel Wilson

The word “classic” really does define Ethel Wilson’s 1954 novel Swamp Angel. Wilson’s protagonist Maggie Lloyd begins the novel in a failing marriage and a state of mental fatigue. She decides to abandon her life in the city and search for peace in the rugged British Columbia wilderness. While she has her troubles in her new life, it becomes abundantly clear that she feels at home in the small town she settles in, and that the beauty of the wilderness provides refuge from the violence of the busy city and from the turmoil of her past life.

Because I grew up in British Columbia myself, Wilson’s description of BC’s forests, mountains and lakes was novel for me as a reader. Never had I read about the landscape of my childhood in such classic language. To me, therefor, this book is a trail blazer. Wilson shows future BC writers that it is possible to write about BC’s majestic wilderness and do it justice. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I was struck by how similar Maggie’s experience of the serenity of the forest was to my own.

Fair warning, this book does contain slurs, and, frankly, could be thought of as offensive for a variety of reasons. Some references to an Asian boy throughout the novel are hard to read, and the complete lack of reference to indigenous cultures is perhaps not surprising for the era, but frustrating nonetheless. Though I call the book a trail blazer, I understand that these trails were quite literally blazed overtop of existing ones. While authors like Wilson were desperately trying to create a literary culture that was unique to BC, a rich culture of storytelling was being erased. Thankfully, indigenous writing has survived the violent history of colonialism, and I hope to add some indigenous novel reviews in the near future!

For now, I will leave you with the assertion that Wilson’s writing makes me feel at home in the same way that Wells Gray Provincial Park or Botanical Beach or Lac Le Jeune does. I can’t speak to the power that Swamp Angel will have for everyone, but for BC residents this one is well-worth the read!