In the decades following Confederation, Canada was a nation struggling to define itself at a time of economic upheaval, ethnic division, and political and religious uncertainty; it was both a forbidding and fruitful time to be a writer, and particularly to be a woman writer, ostensibly barred by her sex from political debate and self-display. Yet when Lily Lewis wrote for The Week in 1888 that “The time has come for this Canada of ours to be revealed by other tongues, other pens, and in other languages than that of the railway magnate or emigration agent,” she obviously counted herself and fellow women among those who would reveal the new nation; and her confidence was not misplaced. Women played an increasingly public role in post-Confederation Canada, contributing with confidence and authority to an emerging print culture centered in the newspaper and magazine industries and the fledgling domestic book trade. Amidst heated debates about the health of the race, the decline of Christianity, women’s rights, class warfare, and the Indian problem, the voices of women were not only tolerated but increasingly sought after for their social awareness, moral influence, and personal touch. Working creatively in genres ranging from the newspaper sketch, campaign speech, and advice column to the personal memoir, patriotic poem, and social problem novel, Canadian women crafted compelling personae who spoke powerfully and persuasively to a large audience, both at home and internationally.