Claire L’Heureux-Dubé

This book is a tour de force. Constance Backhouse has created a new genre, one that masterfully combines socio-legal history and riveting biography, giving insight not just into the life of an individual but also into Canadian history. In its weaving together of public and private events, this book makes visible the costs borne by those who were breaking paths ahead of their time. -- Rebecca Johnson, professor, Faculty of Law, University of Victoria Professor Backhouse has taken her legal expertise, stirred in prodigious amounts of research, added some spicy feminist analysis, iced the whole with her inimitable writing style, and served up a magnificent biography. For many English Canadians this detailed portrait will be an eye-opener, one that may well contribute to a greater understanding of Quebec history and culture through its comprehensive, intimate, and insightful portrait of Claire L'Heureux-Dube herself. This book is a triumph. -- Philip Girard, professor, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University

Going beyond jurisprudential legacy to provide rich sociocultural context, Claire L’Heureux-Dubé is an exploration of the controversial and historically transformative career of the first Quebec woman on Canada’s Supreme Court.

Both lionized and vilified, Claire L’Heureux-Dubé has shaped the Canadian legal landscape – and in particular its highest court. The second woman appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada, and the first from Quebec, she was known as “the great dissenter” on the bench, making judgments that were applauded and criticized in turn.

L’Heureux-Dubé’s innovative legal approach was anchored in the social, economic, and political context of her cases. Constance Backhouse employs a similar tactic. Rather than focusing exclusively on her high-profile cases and jurisprudential legacy, sheexplores the socio-political and cultural setting in which L’Heureux-Dubé’s career unfolded, while also considering her personal life.

This compelling biography covers aspects of legal history that have never been so fully investigated, enhancing our understanding of the judiciary, the creation of law, the distinctive socio-legal environment of Quebec, the experiences of women in the legal profession, and the inner workings of the top court.