Mary Percy Jackson

Mary Percy Jackson (MD, MBChB, MRCS, LRCP, OC, LLD) graduated from the University of Birmingham in 1927 with degrees in surgery and medicine. In 1929, she answered an advertisement calling women docto...

Janice Dickin

Janice Dickin is Associate Dean in the Department of Communication and Culture at the University of Calgary.

Suitable for the Wilds
Letters from Northern Alberta, 1929–31

Mary Percy Jackson

 Edited by

Janice Dickin

Originally published while Dr. Jackson was still alive, this collection takes into consideration events and documentation that has been discovered only after her death in 2000, including a documentary based on her life, as well as new research on her life. Historian Janice Dickin provides a discussion of the historical and historiographic context, but treats this material with a light hand, allowing readers to encounter it for themselves. She offers a charming narrative of her own adventures traveling north to meet the eighty-eight-year-old Percy in 1991.

Percy bundled her up by the fire, fed her chocolates, and allowed her to read the original letters. Dickin neatly weaves the voice of the twenty-five-year-old with that of the eighty-eight-year-old to fill in the gaps in the story. This edition is a welcome contribution to the history of medicine, of women, and of Northern Canada.


Suitable for the Wilds gives readers a new opportunity to discover this real-life trail blazer whose life had an immeasurable impact on Alberta’s social development in the early 20th century.



FROM THE HOUSE OF COMMONS ENTRY, MAY 10, 2000
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Dr. Mary Percy Jackson, a rural medical pioneer. Dr. Jackson passed away last Saturday in Edmonton at the age of 95. In 1929 Dr. Jackson was fresh out of medical school in England and was looking for adventure. She found it in the Battle River area of the Peace River country where she became the resident doctor and made her rounds on horseback.
Her patients, who were mainly Cree and recent immigrants, pitched in to buy her a horse. The working conditions were rough and isolated. Supplies and provisions were scarce. In spite of that she was successful and highly regarded because of her dedication to her patients. She used her ingenuity to overcome the isolation, transportation challenges and lack of medical equipment. In 1990 Dr. Jackson was awarded the Order of Canada in recognition of her service. I had the pleasure of knowing Dr. Mary Percy Jackson and of listening to her stories of practising medicine under tough conditions. I debated health care issues with her when she was almost 90 years old. Her memorial service will be held on June 3 in Manning and Keg River, Alberta.
—Mr. Charlie Penson (Peace River, Canadian Alliance)

University of Calgary Press