Athena McKenzie

| May 16th, 2024 Canadian author Alice Munro is photographed in Victoria, B.C. on December 10, 2013. Photo: The Canadian Press/Chad Hipolito “Throughout her life and career, Alice Munro has meditated the life she has lived herself, that she has seen others live, the lives she has known and imagined.

“I don’t know whether you know Mariposa. If not, it is of no consequence, for if you know Canada at all, you are probably well acquainted with a dozen towns just like it.” — from Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town by Stephen Leacock Canadians have a reputation for being funny. Mike Myers, Martin Short, Jim Carrey and Russell Peters have long carried the flag as some of the country’s top comedic exports.

“We seek him here, we seek him there, Those Frenchies seek him everywhere. Is he in heaven? Is he in hell? That demmed, elusive Pimpernel?” — from The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy Before Batman, James Bond and even Zorro, there was the Scarlet Pimpernel. The alter ego of addle-brained fop Sir Percy Blakeney, the character first appeared in a 1903 play that delighted theatre-goers when it ran for more than 2,000 performances in London’s West End.