Thomas, Clara (1919–)

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Thomas, Clara (1919–)

Canadian literary critic and educator. Name variations: Clara McCandless Thomas. Born 1919 in Strathroy, Ontario, Canada; University of Western Ontario, BA, 1941, MA, 1944; University of Toronto, PhD, 1962; m. Morley Thomas, 1942; children: Stephen and John.

Taught English at York University (1961–84) and served on editorial boards of many literary journals; works include Love and Work Enough: The Life of Anna Jameson (1967), Ryerson of Upper Canada (1969), The Manawaka World of Margaret Laurence (1972), William Arthur Deacon: A Canadian Literary Life (with John Lennox, 1982), All My Sisters: Essays on the Work of Canadian Women Writers (1994), and Chapters in a Lucky Life (1999); became fellow of Royal Society of Canada (1983).