Stories Subversive: Through the Field with Gloves Off: Short Fiction by Nellie L. McClung

First-wave feminist, activist, and social reformer, Nellie McClung ranked as one of the most popular Canadian authors and among the liveliest critics of Canada's male-dominated society of the early 1900s. Well ahead of her time, McClung was known as a writer who dared to discuss taboo topics, and for her inimitable humour, which rivals that of Stephen Leacock.

This selection of her best short fiction includes depictions of difficult rural living conditions in Western Canada as well as "consciousness-raising" stories reflecting the undue restrictions on women and the anti-female laws and attitudes of her day. While most were published in magazines between 1906 and 1931, a few of these stories appear here for the first time. In addition, a detailed introduction discusses McClung's life and analyses the themes and stylistic touches of each of the stories making up this unique anthology.