Book Review: Essays in the History of Canadian Law, Volume XII: New Essays in Women’s History

Several times each month, we are pleased to republish a recent book review from the Canadian Law Library Review (CLLR). CLLR is the official journal of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL/ACBD), and its reviews cover both practice-oriented and academic publications related to the law.

Essays in the History of Canadian Law, Volume XII: New Essays in Women’s History. Lori Chambers & Joan Sangster, eds. Toronto: Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History, 2023. xiv, 344 p. Includes illustrations, bibliographic references, and index. ISBN 9781487553906 (hardcover) $95.00; ISBN 9781487553913 (ePUB) $95.00; ISBN 9781487553920 (PDF) $95.00.

Reviewed by Sonia Smith
Law Librarian,
Nahum Gelber Law Library, McGill University

Essays in the History of Canadian Law, Volume XII: New Essays in Women’s History is one of the latest additions to the library of scholarship produced by the Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History and is, perhaps surprisingly, the first devoted to women, gender, and the law. This volume has two of Canada’s leading historians on social and socio-legal history as its editors: Lori Chambers, professor of history and women’s studies at Lakehead University, and Joan Sangster, professor emerita of history at Trent University.

As stated by the editors, “this book is explicitly and unapologetically feminist, starting from the premise that women deserve material security, safety, and dignity in their lives, and have the right to equal protection of the law” (p. 8). Through the art of legal storytelling, this anthology delves into historical cases concerning women and gender dynamics to bring to light the power dynamics ingrained within the legal system.

Each chapter unfolds a specific legal dispute and analyzes its significance and outcome within the context of its era, with particular attention paid to the personal experiences of the individuals navigating the legal process. These cases shed light on the historical dynamics of power and resistance and exemplify diverse norms found within the legal system. In them, women are seen consistently playing active roles in pursuing their interests despite facing constraints or oppression.

Composed of 10 essays on women’s interaction with the legal system, this volume covers criminal, labour, family, and human rights law, both in common and civil law, from the mid-eighteenth to the late twentieth centuries. The collection features a diverse array of legal cases, ranging from the well-known to the obscure, and from individual struggles for justice to cases influenced by powerful state actors. Throughout these narratives, various themes are explored, including the gendered nature of legal institutions, the socio-economic and racial biases inherent in legal practice, the blurred distinction between public and private spheres, the pervasive influence of dominant ideologies on the law, the underlying assumptions rooted in settler colonialism, and the emergence of new legal challenges, such as sexual harassment.

Essays in the History of Canadian Law, Volume XII: New Essays in Women’s History aims to comprehend the unequal dynamics within the law alongside the social constructs of gender, class, colonialism, and ethnicity. Its compilation of essays offers an important and captivating overview of the advancements made in feminist historical research. It is strongly recommended for all law libraries across Canada.