Jane Urquhart
Encyclopedia
Jane Urquhart, OC
(born June 21, 1949) is a Canadian
novelist and poet.
, Ontario
in Little Longlac (now part of Greenstone
), Ontario, 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
, where she was educated at Havergal College
, a private school for girls. She received her first B.A in English literature (1971) from the University of Guelph
.
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.
She is the author of seven internationally acclaimed novels entitled, The Whirlpool, Changing Heaven, Away, The Underpainter, The Stone Carvers, A Map of Glass, and Sanctuary Line.
The Whirlpool received the French Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger
(Best Foreign Book Award). Away, was winner of the Trillium Award and a finalist for the prestigious International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. The Underpainter, won the Governor General’s Award and was a finalist for the Rogers Communications Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize. The Stone Carvers, was a finalist for The Giller Prize and the Governor General’s Award, and longlisted for the Booker Prize. A Map of Glass, was a finalist for a regional Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best Book.
She is also the author of a collection of short fiction, Storm Glass, and four books of poetry, I Am Walking in the Garden of His Imaginary Palace, False Shuffles, The Little Flowers of Madame de Montespan, and Some Other Garden. Her work has been translated into numerous foreign languages.
Urquhart has received the Marian Engel Award, Calgary's Bob Edwards Award and the Harboufront Festival Prize, and is a Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France.
In 2005 she was named an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Recently, she was named the 2007 Banff Distinguished Writer.
Urquhart has received numerous honorary doctorates from Canadian universities and has been writer-in-residence at the University of Ottawa and at Memorial University of Newfoundland, the University of Toronto, and the University of Guelph. She has also given readings and lectures in Canada, Britain, Europe, the U.S.A., and Australia.
In 2007 she edited and published “The Penguin Book of Canadian Short Stories,” and in 2009 she published a biography of Lucy Maud Montgomery as part of Penguin’s “Extraordinary Canadians” series.
Jane Urquhart lives in Northumberland County Ontario, Canada, and occasionally in Ireland.
(Best Foreign Book Award). Her third novel, Away, remained on The Globe and Mail
' 's national bestseller list for 132 weeks (the longest of any Canadian book), and won the 1994 Trillium Book Award
.
In 1994 Urquhart received the Marian Engel Award
, presented to female Canadian novelists in mid-career for her entire body of work. In 1996 she was named to France's Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
as a chevalier, and Away was shortlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
, 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
for English Fiction, and becoming a fixture on the national bestseller lists.
In 2001 she published The Stone Carvers
, a highly acclaimed international bestseller that was a finalist for both the Giller Prize and the Governor General's Award
, and was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize
.
In 2005, Urquhart was named an Officer of the Order of Canada
.
, France
, Germany
, Britain
, Scandinavia
, Australia
, and the United States
, and have been translated into several languages.
Except where noted, bibliographic information courtesy Brock University.
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
(born June 21, 1949) is a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
novelist and poet.
Biography
Born 200 miles north of Thunder BayThunder Bay
-In Canada:Thunder Bay is the name of three places in the province of Ontario, Canada along Lake Superior:*Thunder Bay District, Ontario, a district in Northwestern Ontario*Thunder Bay, a city in Thunder Bay District*Thunder Bay, Unorganized, Ontario...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
in Little Longlac (now part of Greenstone
Greenstone, Ontario
Greenstone is an amalgamated town in the Canadian province of Ontario. The area of the town is , stretching along Highway 11 from Lake Nipigon to Longlac; it is one of the largest incorporated towns in Canada....
), Ontario, 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 provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, where she was educated at Havergal College
Havergal College
Havergal College is an independent boarding and day school for girls from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Named for English hymn composer, author and humanitarian Frances Ridley Havergal, the school was founded in 1894 by a group of men led by The Honourable H...
, 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 comprehensive public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College, the Macdonald Institute, and the Ontario Veterinary College...
.
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
Tony Urquhart
Anthony Morse Urquhart is a Canadian painter.He was born in 1934 in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. He attended Albright Art School and the University of Buffalo in Buffalo, New York, from 1953 to 1958. He was also elected to study art at the Yale Summer School in 1958.He began his exhibiting...
. The Urquharts have one daughter, Emily, born in 1977.
She is the author of seven internationally acclaimed novels entitled, The Whirlpool, Changing Heaven, Away, The Underpainter, The Stone Carvers, A Map of Glass, and Sanctuary Line.
The Whirlpool received the French Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger
Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger
The Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger is a French literary prize created in 1948. It is awarded yearly in two categories: Novel and Essay for books translated in to French.- Prix du Meilleur livre étranger — Novel :* 2010: Gonçalo M...
(Best Foreign Book Award). Away, was winner of the Trillium Award and a finalist for the prestigious International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. The Underpainter, won the Governor General’s Award and was a finalist for the Rogers Communications Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize. The Stone Carvers, was a finalist for The Giller Prize and the Governor General’s Award, and longlisted for the Booker Prize. A Map of Glass, was a finalist for a regional Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best Book.
She is also the author of a collection of short fiction, Storm Glass, and four books of poetry, I Am Walking in the Garden of His Imaginary Palace, False Shuffles, The Little Flowers of Madame de Montespan, and Some Other Garden. Her work has been translated into numerous foreign languages.
Urquhart has received the Marian Engel Award, Calgary's Bob Edwards Award and the Harboufront Festival Prize, and is a Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France.
In 2005 she was named an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Recently, she was named the 2007 Banff Distinguished Writer.
Urquhart has received numerous honorary doctorates from Canadian universities and has been writer-in-residence at the University of Ottawa and at Memorial University of Newfoundland, the University of Toronto, and the University of Guelph. She has also given readings and lectures in Canada, Britain, Europe, the U.S.A., and Australia.
In 2007 she edited and published “The Penguin Book of Canadian Short Stories,” and in 2009 she published a biography of Lucy Maud Montgomery as part of Penguin’s “Extraordinary Canadians” series.
Jane Urquhart lives in Northumberland County Ontario, Canada, and occasionally in Ireland.
Awards and honours
In 1992, her novel The Whirlpool was the first Canadian book to win France's prestigious Prix du Meilleur livre etrangerPrix du Meilleur Livre Étranger
The Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger is a French literary prize created in 1948. It is awarded yearly in two categories: Novel and Essay for books translated in to French.- Prix du Meilleur livre étranger — Novel :* 2010: Gonçalo M...
(Best Foreign Book Award). Her third novel, Away, remained on The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
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. Anthologies, new editions, re-issues and translations are not eligible. Three jury members per language judge the...
.
In 1994 Urquhart received the Marian Engel Award
Marian Engel Award
The Marian Engel Award was a Canadian literary award, presented each year from 1986 to 2007 by the Writers' Trust of Canada in memory of the writer Marian Engel...
, presented to female Canadian novelists in mid-career for her entire body of work. 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 Mérite by President 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 an international literary award for a work of fiction, jointly sponsored by the city of Dublin, Ireland and the company IMPAC. At €100,000 it is one of the richest literary prizes in the world...
, 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 18 by Donna Scott, Chairman of the Canada Council for the Arts...
for English Fiction, and becoming a fixture on the national bestseller lists.
In 2001 she published The Stone Carvers
The Stone Carvers
The Stone Carvers is a 2001 historical and World War I novel by the Canadian writer Jane Urquhart.-Plot introduction:The novel follows three generations of a Canadian family, starting with a wood carver who befriends an immigrant German priest as he founds a church in an isolated town in 19th...
, 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 a collection of awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, marking distinction in a number of academic, artistic and social fields. The first was conceived in 1937 by Lord Tweedsmuir, a prolific author of fiction and non-fiction who created the Governor...
, and was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize
Man Booker Prize
The Man Booker Prize for Fiction is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original full-length novel, written in the English language, by a citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations, Ireland, or Zimbabwe. The winner of the Man Booker Prize is generally assured of international renown and...
.
In 2005, Urquhart was named an Officer of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
.
Works
Urquhart's books have been published in many countries, including the NetherlandsNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and have been translated into several languages.
Novels
- The Whirlpool. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1986.
- Storm Glass. Erin, ON: Porcupine's Quill, 1987.
- Changing Heaven. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1990.
- Away. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1993.
- The Underpainter. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1997.
- The Stone CarversThe Stone CarversThe Stone Carvers is a 2001 historical and World War I novel by the Canadian writer Jane Urquhart.-Plot introduction:The novel follows three generations of a Canadian family, starting with a wood carver who befriends an immigrant German priest as he founds a church in an isolated town in 19th...
. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 2001. - A Map of Glass (2005)
- Sanctuary Line (2010)
Poetry
- I'm Walking in the Garden of His Imaginary Palace: Eleven Poems for Le Notre. Toronto: Aya Press, 1982.
- False Shuffles. Victoria: Porcépic, 1982. Toronto: Aya Press, 1982.
- The Little Flowers of Madame de Montespan. Erin, Ontario: Porcupine's Quill, 1984.
- Some Other Garden. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 2000.
Except where noted, bibliographic information courtesy Brock University.
External links
- Jane Urquhart's entry in The Canadian Encyclopedia
- Jane Urquhart's video in Les podcasts de la sorbonne nouvelle
- Canadian Poetry Online: Jane Urquhart (Biography and six poems (Shadow, The Baroque Bed, The One Before, Venetian Gondoliers at Versailles, All Around the Palace, Hall of Mirrors)