May Agnes Fleming

May Agnes Fleming, from a photograph taken in New York.

Adventure, Romance, and a National Reputation

May Agnes Fleming (née Early, 1840–1880) was a prolific and highly successful Canadian novelist. Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, she demonstrated a passion for writing at an early age, eventually becoming one of the first Canadian women to achieve substantial commercial success in popular fiction.

She was educated at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and began publishing stories under the pen name Cousin May Carleton at just thirteen years old.

At seventeen, she became a teacher at a local Roman Catholic school, a position she held until her writing career demanded her full attention. On August 24, 1865, after a brief courtship, she married William John Fleming and subsequently wrote under her married name. In 1875, she moved to Brooklyn, likely to be closer to her publisher and to benefit from stronger copyright protections in the United States. Although Canada had copyright laws, they could be overridden if they conflicted with British interests and imperial copyright regulations. But even living and later becoming an American citizen did not always protect her from unscrupulous publishers who, without permission, would often reprint her novels.

Fleming was among Canada’s first well-paid female authors, earning an impressive annual income of over fifteen thousand dollars and gaining national recognition. May was a master of the suspense-laden serial tale, often set in high society environments in both England and America. Her characters and incidents, while sometimes adhering to the stereotypes of the genre, were brought to life through ingenious plots and a vigorous, direct writing style. She took care to introduce Canadian episodes and characters into many of her novels, reflecting her roots and offering readers a glimpse into Canadian life.

May Agnes Fleming’s life was cut short when she succumbed to Bright’s disease on March 24, 1880, in Brooklyn, at the age of 39. Her passing marked the end of a groundbreaking era in Canadian literature. She was interred at Calvary Cemetery in Brooklyn.

Image Source

Morgan, Henry James, (1903). Types of Canadian Women and of Women Who Are or Have Been Connected with Canada. (p.119). William Briggs, Toronto. Pdf downloaded from: https://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.75074

References

Cogswell, Fred (1972), “Early, May Agnes (Fleming),” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 10, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/early_may_agnes_10E.html

Dorward, Sarah (2024). A Working Bibliography of Texts by May Agnes Fleming. Canadian Literature. https://canlit.ca/article/a-working-bibliography-of-texts-by-may-agnes-fleming/

Lee, Amanda, M., (2008). May Agnes Fleming. In NBLE: New Brunswick Literary Encyclopedia. https://nble.lib.unb.ca/browse/f/may-agnes-fleming

Stephens, Hugh (June 2024). Two Hundred Years of Copyright History in Canada: What a Journey!. Hugh Stephens Blog. https://hughstephensblog.net/2024/06/