In recent years, public history has developed as a credible strategy for communicating the value and significance of historical knowledge. It is hard to see how the shallowness of so much public life can be overcome without a commitment to better understanding our historical position. This project is dedicated to developing a set of historical notes to honour the people and history of civil society in the Maritimes, illuminating them with key stories and images.
The Scottish author, Robert Chambers, published his Book of Days in 1864, and the sub-title is still very apt for our project: "A Miscellany of Popular Antiquities in Connection with the Calendar, Including Anecdote, Biography, & History, Curiosities of Literature, and Oddities of Human Life and Character".
Anna Leonowens is known in Nova Scotia as one of the organizers of the Victoria School of Art (now NSCAD University) in 1887. She subsequently became involved in organizing the Women's Suffrage Association, where she became the first President. Although Anna was not to live to see it, the political coalition behind women's suffrage was eventually successful with the passing of the Nova Scotia Franchise Act of 26 April, 1918.
