London, Ontario's Emily Chesley Reading Circle [Canada]

"My critics say that my writings are an offense to moral decency and Christian civilization. While in fact it is their autocratic regime, rife with a paterfamilias ethic that is the offense. I humbly suggest to them: get bent."

Emily Chesley, 1904, London, Ontario
(addressing the first Canadian Congress of Speculationists)

The Meanderings of the Emily Chesley Reading Circle

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"I now have indelibly burned onto my retinas the image of Emily cavorting about in the backwaters of some forgotten body of water, looking for her lost love ... bethonged hindward parts bobbing up and down with each dive. I don't know whether to thank or curse the writers... I am also now incredibly afraid of 'fence wedgies'."

--Don Muchow, Editor, Would That It Were

The Meanderings

Yes, there is much to fear in the Circle's first print publication, but much more to enjoy.

Years before H.G. Wells penned The War of the Worlds, Emily Chesley was defying upper class standards and shattering Victorian assumptions (not to mention a few pelvises). An author, poet, social activist, explorer, aviatrix, and 92-year-old pole vaulter, Emily Chesley is one of Canada's most interesting--and neglected--writers.

Download a sample of the bio [pdf - 260 kb]
[Acrobat Reader available at Adobe.com]

Read the Scene Magazine article.

Listen to the CBC interview here.

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Reviews

CBC Radio Interview:
For five years, the Emily Chesley Reading Circle has been meeting in London to research and discuss the life and works of this remarkable but neglected writer. Though born in Ireland in the mid-1800s, Emily Chesley eventually made London her home. Now, "The Meanderings of the Emily Chesley Reading Circle" has been published by the Circle's members, to try to spread the word about a hidden treasure in their midst. Mark Rayner, a founding member of the Circle, came into our London bureau to tell us more. [launches mp3 file - 1.3 meg]

"THE MEANDERINGS ... is a utopia for the silly name, a bizarre little collection of offbeat names, situations, and flat-out ridiculous that should appeal to all fans of Monty Python and Rowan Atkinson. Short but sweet, and oftentimes offensively funny, MEANDERINGS is nothing less than fun for the sake of fun."
--Stone Junction, Amazon Top 1000 Reviewer

The Emily Chesley Reading Circle is a group of "scholars" and bon-vivants pledged to further the study of Emily Chesley, a speculative fiction writer of the late Victorian period (who lived for some time in the London, Ontario region), who has been long-overlooked by Canadian literature. Our research includes the history, literature, science and speculative fiction, parody and humor of Emily Chesley; we also examine the life of her "uncle", the quirky inventor Michael Flannigan. Indeed, the Circle also studies many of the other literary, historical and scientific figures they met in their lives, such as J.R.R. Tolkein, Lewis Carroll and Mahatma Gandhi.