Dora Sanders Carney Explained

Birth Name:Dora May Sanders
Other Names:Mrs. James E. Carney
Dora Carney
Birth Date:12 September 1903

Dora Sanders Carney was a Canadian journalist who lived in occupied Shanghai during the onset of the Second World War.

Early life

Dora May Sanders was born in Capetown, South Africa, in 1903. She spent time growing up in Umpata territory South Africa, until her family moved back to Cape Town, then to England, and on to Canada. She married Jim Carney in 1934.[1]

Career

She started writing ads while living in Toronto, and her writings on the role of women are cited by other people interested in the role of women in Canada.[2] [3] [4] Carney is best known for her writings on the time she lived in Shanghai. She arrived in Shanghai in 1933, and described the city as an "exhilarating and bewildering experience".[5] She was one of the approximately 250 Canadians living in Shanghai at the time,[6] and she would ultimately spend six years living in Shanghai.[7] She was a resident there in August 1937 when Japanese troops attacked Shanghai. Carney would later describe the situation to a Toronto newspaper.[8] Sanders left Shanghai after the attack to got to Hong Kong[9] sailed on the Empress of Canada.[10] Carney returned to Shanghai[11] in 1938. While there she worked for the advertising company Millington, Ltd.[12]

In 1961, Dora and Jim moved to Saturna Island. There, Dora wrote a column, "Gulf Islands Vignette," for the Victoria Times-Colonist newspaper.[13] [14]

In 1980 Sanders published a book about her experience in Shanghai, Foreign Devils Had Light Eyes; she was 77 when her book was published.[15] Her second book was to be titled Gotta, Gotta, Gotta.

She died on Saturna Island on 18 September 1983.[16]

Selected publications

Personal life

Her sister, Byrne Hope Sanders, was the editor of the Canadian magazine Chatalaine.[18] Carney had four children, including Pat Carney who became a politician in Canada.[19]

Notes and References

  1. News: Bayley . Chuck . 1982-06-15 . Dora's fascinating tale . 2024-05-03 . The Vancouver Sun . 34.
  2. Book: Strong-Boag, Veronica Jane . The new day recalled : lives of girls and women in English Canada, 1919-1939 . 1988 . Markham : Viking Penguin . Internet Archive.
  3. Book: Strong-Boag, Veronica . A Liberal-Labour Lady: The Times and Life of Mary Ellen Spear Smith . 2021-11-15 . UBC Press . 978-0-7748-6727-6 . 176 . en.
  4. Book: Strong-Boag, Veronica Jane . The New Day Recalled: Lives of Girls and Women in English Canada, 1919-1939 . 1988 . Copp Clark Pitman . 978-0-7730-4741-9 . en.
  5. Book: Gordon, Katherine . A curious life : the biography of Princess Peggy Abkhazi . 2002 . Winlaw, B.C. : Sono Nis Press . Internet Archive . 978-1-55039-125-1 . 111.
  6. Book: Meehan, John David . The Dominion and the Rising Sun : Canada encounters Japan, 1929-41 . 2004 . Vancouver, B.C. : UBC Press . Internet Archive . 978-0-7748-1120-0 . 150.
  7. News: Turcotte . Bobbi . 1980-10-23 . Writer recalls adventure . 2024-05-03 . The Ottawa Citizen . 76.
  8. News: 1937-10-18 . Saw Shanghai carnage says it could happen here . 2024-05-03 . The Toronto Star . 17.
  9. News: 20 January 1938 . Mrs. Dora Sanders Carney Painted a Vivid Word Picture of Trying Scenes . Brantford Expositor . 8.
  10. News: 1937-09-23 . Bomb blew up Chinese close to Toronto woman . 2024-05-04 . The Toronto Star . 39.
  11. News: 1941-12-01 . Over the teacups . 2024-05-03 . The Toronto Star . 22.
  12. Book: Armand, Cécile . Madmen in Shanghai: A Social History of Advertising in Modern China (1914–1956) . 2024-06-04 . Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG . 978-3-11-139000-0 . 90 . en.
  13. News: 23 September 1986 . Author Carney Dead at 83 . Vancouver Sun . 5.
  14. News: 24 Sep 1986 . Dora Carney, 83, was noted author . Toronto Star; Toronto, Ont. . H14 . Proquest.
  15. News: Dufour . Pat . 1980-10-12 . At 77, she's rookie author . 2024-05-03 . Times Colonist . 16.
  16. Web site: Dora Sanders Carney CWRC/CSEC . 2023-04-03 . cwrc.ca.
  17. Reviews of Foreign Devils Had Light Eyes
    • News: Fraser . John . 8 November 1980 . FOREIGN DEVILS HAD LIGHT EYES . The Globe and Mail ; Toronto, Ont. . E17 . Proquest.
    • News: Long . Frank . 1980-10-10 . Shanghaied by a dream . 2024-05-03 . The Vancouver Sun . 121.
    • Barrett . David P. . 1982 . Briefly Noted . Pacific Affairs . 55 . 1 . 175–177 . 0030-851X.
  18. Book: Sutherland, Fraser . The monthly epic : a history of Canadian magazines, 1789-1989 . 1989 . Toronto : Fitzhenry & Whiteside . Internet Archive . 978-0-88902-897-5.
  19. News: Mickleburgh . Rod . 12 August 2023 . POLITICIAN HELPED KEEP ABORTION OUT OF CANADA’S CRIMINAL CODE: A trailblazer in federal politics, she was the first female cabinet minister to hold each of three major economic portfolios, and she later served in the Senate for 18 years . The Globe and Mail; Toronto, Ont.. . O12 . Proquest.