Ringing the Changes ― An Autobiography

First published in 1957, Mazo de la Roche’s last autobiography is a vivid look at her life in Ontario, and a parting shot at her critics.

Mazo de la Roche, born in 1879, was an only child until her parents adopted her cousin Caroline. The two became very close, sharing a childhood filled with tragedy, gallantry, and humour. Their friendship was said to have become intimate, with people speculating on the real nature of their relationship to the present day.

In this memoir, de la Roche comments on her childhood and her desire to be a boy, and how that affected her efforts in the literary world. She confesses her personal connection with her character Finch Whiteoak, and details her romantic struggles.Ringing the Changes is the closest insight we have into Mazo de la Roche’s innermost thoughts and the private life she typically kept hidden.

Mazo de la Roche was an impoverished writer in Toronto in 1927 when she won a $10,000 prize from theAtlantic Monthly for her novel Jalna. She went on to publish sixteen novels in the popular series about a Canadian family named Whiteoak living in a house called Jalna. She created unforgettable characters who come to life for her readers, but was secretive about her own life and tried to escape the public attention fame brought.