"Oscar Skelton (1878-1941) was a prominent early-twentieth-century scholar who became a civil servant and political adviser to prime ministers Mackenzie King and R.B. Bennett. He wrote a number of important books and one, Socialism: A Critical Analysis, was praised by Vladimir Lenin. His wife, Isabel Skelton (1877-1956), wrote extensively about literature and history; she was the first historian to treat women from Canada's past individually in their own right rather than as a generalized category. Both husband and wife promoted the idea that Canada was an independent nation no longer in need of Britain's tutelage." "Terry Crowley has written a unique double biography that examines the lives of Isabel and Oscar, their works, and their careers. He shows how both individuals in their own way influenced the development of Canada as a nation-state. Crowley questions why, when both Isabel and Oscar wrote influential works, Oscar's career blossomed, while Isabel remained virtually unrecognized. He concludes that despite her literary accomplishments, Isabel was enmeshed in domestic and family duties, while Oscar's rise to prominence was facilitated by male scholarly and publishing networks as well as the support that women provided to men's careers. This book traces the lives of two people who rejected British colonialism and hailed a new nation on the world's stage, examining the intersections of gender, nationality, and literary expression at a significant juncture in Canada's history."--Jacket.