About the edition

Lost for a Woman by New Brunswick author May Agnes Fleming was originally published in 1880 by G.W. Carleton and Co. Publishers, New York. This was Fleming’s 11th novel.

Fleming passed away in March 1880, so this novel might be one of the last novels published prior to her death. A second half to this novel was later published in 1907 under the title His to Love or Hate (New York: Street & Smith, 1907)^[1].  Various publishers are known to have issued works after Fleming’s death in 1880, that she did not write, in order to capitalize on her popularity^[2]. So it is difficult to know exactly which novels were written by Fleming after 1880. Fleming’s biography in Canada’s Early Women Writers database, lists 47 novels to her name. The Dalhousie Killam Library collection has 8 other novels by May Agnes Fleming ranging in date from 1875 to 1911. Many are reprints of earlier works.

Popularity and Genre

Fleming was a famous author at a time when Canada wasn’t well known for its famous authors. For a Maritime author in the late 1800s her popular success throughout Canada, the United States and Britain was unmatched. The only exception might be Dalhousie professor and author James De Mille^[3], who had similar levels of popularity^[4]. Fleming is said to have earned roughly $10,000/year in the later part of her career^[5], which would have been a considerable sum at the time and a strong indicator of her widespread appeal.

Fleming’s novels can best be characterized as melodramas.  Melodramas were very popular during the Victorian era from 1837-1901. Lost for a Woman is filled with improbable coincidences, relatable domestic struggles and the popular undercurrent of good vs. evil. So it fits squarely within the genre. This digital edition is simply intended to make the work available to modern readers in an accessible format. It’s an easy read and representative of popular fiction from the period.

Geoff Brown,

Digital Scholarship Librarian