Marjorie Elliott Wilkins Campbell (1901-1986) was a Canadian writer of history and historical fiction. She won two Governor General’s Literary Awards for the best works of the year, one of the two ...view moreMarjorie Elliott Wilkins Campbell (1901-1986) was a Canadian writer of history and historical fiction. She won two Governor General’s Literary Awards for the best works of the year, one of the two 1950 non-fiction awards for The Saskatchewan and the Governor General’s Award for Juvenile Fiction in 1954 for The Nor’Westers: The Fight for the Fur Trade.
Her other titles include The Soil Is Not Enough (1938), Ontario (1953), The North West Company (1957), The Face of Canada (1959), No Compromise: The Story of Colonel Baker and the CNIB (1965), Push for the Pacific (1968), The Savage River: Seventy-One Days with Simon Fraser (1968), The Fur Trade (1968), 54-40 or Fight! (1973), Northwest to the Sea: A Biography of William McGillivray (1975) and The Silent Song of Mary Eleanor (1983).
Marjorie Elliott Wilkins was born in London, England, to Mary Eleanor Elliott and William Herbert Wilkins. They emigrated to the Qu’Appelle Valley in Saskatchewan in 1904. Marjorie was educated in Swift Current and Toronto. She married Angus Campbell, a surgeon, in 1931 and continued to work as a writer and editor.
In addition to publishing novels and biographies focused on Canadian history and exploration, Campbell worked as an editor for Magazine Digest and published numerous articles in Chatelaine, Saturday Night, and Maclean’s.
Over the course of her writing career she won multiple awards including Canada Council awards, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Order of Canada.
Campbell passed away in Toronto, Canada on November 23, 1986.view less