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Jane Urquhart

 

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Jane Urquhart



 
 
Jane Urquhart, OC
Order of Canada

The Order of Canada is Canada's highest civilian order and is the centrepiece of the Orders, decorations, and medals of Canada. Membership in the order is accorded to those who exemplify the order's Latin motto, taken from Epistle to the Hebrews 11:16, desiderantes meliorem patriam, meaning "They desire a better country."...
 (born June 21, 1949) is a Canadian
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
 author.

200 miles north of Thunder Bay
Thunder Bay

Thunder Bay may refer to several things in North America's Great Lakes region....
, Ontario
Ontario

Ontario is a Provinces and territories of Canada located in the Central Canada part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area....
 in Little Longlac, Jane Urquhart is the third of three children and the only daughter of Marian (born Quinn) and Walter (Nick) Carter, a prospector and mining engineer. Urquhart spent her later childhood and adolescence in Toronto
Toronto

Toronto is the List of the 100 largest municipalities in Canada by population in Canada and the Provinces and territories of Canada Provincial and territorial capitals of Canada of Ontario....
, where she was educated at Havergal College
Havergal College

Havergal College is a leading independent boarding and day school for girls in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at the intersection of Lawrence Avenue and Avenue Road ....
, a private school for girls.






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Jane Urquhart, OC
Order of Canada

The Order of Canada is Canada's highest civilian order and is the centrepiece of the Orders, decorations, and medals of Canada. Membership in the order is accorded to those who exemplify the order's Latin motto, taken from Epistle to the Hebrews 11:16, desiderantes meliorem patriam, meaning "They desire a better country."...
 (born June 21, 1949) is a Canadian
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
 author.

Biography

Born 200 miles north of Thunder Bay
Thunder Bay

Thunder Bay may refer to several things in North America's Great Lakes region....
, Ontario
Ontario

Ontario is a Provinces and territories of Canada located in the Central Canada part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area....
 in Little Longlac, Jane Urquhart is the third of three children and the only daughter of Marian (born Quinn) and Walter (Nick) Carter, a prospector and mining engineer. Urquhart spent her later childhood and adolescence in Toronto
Toronto

Toronto is the List of the 100 largest municipalities in Canada by population in Canada and the Provinces and territories of Canada Provincial and territorial capitals of Canada of Ontario....
, where she was educated at Havergal College
Havergal College

Havergal College is a leading independent boarding and day school for girls in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at the intersection of Lawrence Avenue and Avenue Road ....
, a private school for girls. She received her first B.A in English literature (1971) from the University of Guelph
University of Guelph

The University of Guelph, also known as U of G, is a medium-sized university located in Guelph, Ontario, established in 1964. While the U of G offers degrees in many different disciplines, the university is best known for its focus on life sciences, based in part on a long-standing history of achievement in Agriculture and Veterinary Me...
.

While there, she met visual artist Paul Keele, and they were married in 1968. Keele was killed in a car accident in 1973; Jane then returned to the University of Guelph to study art history, obtaining her second B.A. in 1976. The same year, she married Canadian visual artist Tony Urquhart. The Urquharts have one daughter, Emily, born in 1977.

Urquhart has been writer-in-residence at the University of Ottawa
University of Ottawa

The University of Ottawa or Universit? d'Ottawa in French language is a bilingual , research-intensive, non-denominational, international university in Ottawa, Ontario....
 and at Memorial University of Newfoundland
Memorial University of Newfoundland

Memorial University of Newfoundland, is a comprehensive university located primarily in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada....
 and, during the winter and spring of 1997, she held the presidential writer-in-residence fellowship at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is a public university research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated a mile north of the city's Financial District, Toronto on grounds that surround Queen's Park ....
. She has also given readings and lectures in Canada, Britain, Europe, the USA and Australia. Currently, she is writer in residence at the University of Guelph.

Urquhart divides her time between Southwestern Ontario
Southwestern Ontario

Southwestern Ontario is a region of the Canadian province of Ontario, centred on the city of London, Ontario. It extends north to south from the Bruce Peninsula on Lake Huron to the Lake Erie shoreline, and east to south-west roughly from Kitchener, Ontario to Windsor, Ontario ....
 and Ireland
Ireland

Ireland is the List of islands by area in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islet....
.

Works

Urquhart's books have been published in many countries, including the Netherlands
Netherlands

The Netherlands is a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands is located in North-West Europe, and bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east....
, France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
, Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
, Britain
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
, Scandinavia
Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a historical and geographical subregion in northern Europe that includes the Scandinavian Peninsula. It consists of the kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark; some authorities also include Finland and some might even include Iceland....
, Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
, and the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, and have been translated into several languages.

Novels

  • The Whirlpool (1986)
  • Changing Heaven (1990)
  • Away (1993)
  • The Underpainter (1997)
  • The Stone Carvers
    The Stone Carvers

    The Stone Carvers is a 2001 historical novel and World War I novel by the Canadian writer Jane Urquhart....
     (2001)
  • A Map of Glass (2005)


Short fiction

  • Storm Glass (1987)


Poetry

  • I'm Walking in the Garden of His Imaginary Palace
  • False Shuffles
  • The Little Flowers of Madame de Montespan


Awards and honours

In 1994 Urquhart received the Marian Engel Award
Marian Engel Award

The Marian Engel Award was a Canada literary award, presented each year from 1986 to 2007 by the Writers' Trust of Canada in memory of the writer Marian Engel....
 for an outstanding body of prose written by a Canadian woman. In 1996 she was named to France's Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres

The Ordre des Arts et des Lettres is an Order of France, established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture , and confirmed as part of the Ordre National du M?rite by President of France Charles de Gaulle in 1963....
 as a chevalier, and Away was shortlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award

The International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award is the largest and most international prize of its kind for a single work of fiction published in English....
, the world's largest literary prize for a single work of fiction. In 1997 Urquhart was asked to serve on the jury for this award.

In the fall of 1997, her fourth novel, The Underpainter, was published to wide critical acclaim, winning the 1997 Governor General's Award
1997 Governor General's Awards

The winners of the 1997 Governor General's Literary Awards were announced on November 18th by Donna Scott, Chairman of the Canada Council. Each winner received a cheque for $10,000....
 for English Fiction, and becoming a fixture on the national bestseller lists.

In 1992, her novel The Whirlpool was the first Canadian book to win France's prestigious Prix du Meilleur livre etranger
Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger

The Prix du Meilleur Livre ?tranger is a French literary prize created in 1948. It is awarded yearly in two categories: Novel and Essay....
 (Best Foreign Book Award). Her third novel, Away, remained on The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail

The Globe and Mail is a Canada English language nationally distributed newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country....
''s national bestseller list for 132 weeks (the longest of any Canadian book), and won the 1994 Trillium Book Award
Trillium Book Award

The Trillium Award is given annually by the government of the Province of Ontario and is open to books in any genre: fiction, non-fiction, drama, children's books, and poetry....
.

In 2001 she published The Stone Carvers
The Stone Carvers

The Stone Carvers is a 2001 historical novel and World War I novel by the Canadian writer Jane Urquhart....
, a highly acclaimed international bestseller that was a finalist for both the Giller Prize and the Governor General's Award
Governor General's Award

The Governor General's Awards are named in honour of the Governor General of Canada, and are presented in a number of fields....
, and was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize
Man Booker Prize

The Man Booker Prize for Fiction, also known in short as the Booker Prize, is a literary award awarded each year for the best original full-length novel, written in the English language, by a citizen of either the Commonwealth of Nations or Republic of Ireland....
.

In 2005, Urquhart was named an Officer of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada

The Order of Canada is Canada's highest civilian order and is the centrepiece of the Orders, decorations, and medals of Canada. Membership in the order is accorded to those who exemplify the order's Latin motto, taken from Epistle to the Hebrews 11:16, desiderantes meliorem patriam, meaning "They desire a better country."...
.

Footnotes



External links

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