My life as a dame

In February 1956, a remarkable young woman named Christina McCall began her working life as an editorial secretary at Maclean's magazine. It was a legendary time there, when the likes of Pierre Berton, Robert Fulford, June Callwood, Peter Gzowski, and Peter C. Newman graced the magazine's pages. McCall would come to join that illustrious group, and be considered not only one of the best political writers of her generation, but a pioneer for women in journalism and one of Canada's most brilliant minds.

For the first time, the best of McCall's articles and essays have been collected in one definitive volume alongside excerpts from her unfinished memoirs. Covering topics from the Alberta oil boom to the rise of divorce rates in Canada to in-depth profiles of the Ottawa establishment, McCall's clear-eyed observations are not only laced with insight, humour, and compassion, they continue to be relevant today.