Stephen Leacock

Stephen Leacock’s satiric masterpiece Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town captures “the Empire forever” mentality that marked Anglo-Canadian life in the early decades of the 20th century. Historian Margaret Macmillan – whose books Women of the Raj and Paris 1919 cast fresh light on the colonial legacy – has great affection for Leacock’s gentle wit and sharp-eyed insight. The renowned historian examines Leacock’s life as a poor but ambitious student who rose to become an economist, celebrated academic and, most importantly, the beloved humorist who taught Canadians to laugh at themselves.