From Sword to Pen

Kathleen M. Macmillan 

From Sword to Pen

— a familial biography of Cyrus John MacMillan (1878-1953)

AWARDS

Prince Edward Island Museum & Heritage Award: Publication of the Year Research & Academic Category, 2024

“A tour de force: this biography brings to life the story and achievements of a notable Canadian, Dr. Cyrus MacMillan. The book is especially rich in its contextual illumination of historical threads including the Mi’kmaq Indigenous people, the Selkirk settlers and settlements, the establishment of McGill University, governance changes in the Presbyterian Church, and the social disruptions of the Great Wars.” 

— Nancy Christine Edwards, Distinguished Professor / Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa.

“From Sword To Pen re-introduces us to one of the most successful “Islanders abroad” from the first half of the twentieth century, Cyrus J. MacMillan, best-selling author, distinguished academic, and national politician. It will help to rescue him from his present, undeserved obscurity.”

— Dr. Edward MacDonald, University of Prince Edward Island

“Kathleen MacMillan’s well-researched and insightful study of her distant relative’s remarkable career retrieves the memory of a man who was largely forgotten. In outlining his life as an academic administrator, lecturer, researcher, soldier, public servant, and politician, she reveals that he was a complex and multi-faceted man deserving further study. One suspects that this biography will inspire more investigation.”

— Peter F. McNally, Professor Emeritus, McGill University