Margaret Duley | Tapestry
Opera on the Avalon is proud to share the second release of Tapestry, portraying the remarkable Margaret Duley, one of the most fearless literary voices Newfoundland and Labrador has ever produced.
Before the world was ready for her, Margaret was already writing it down. She captured the restlessness of outport women who refused to be contained, putting on the page what most wouldn’t dare speak aloud — the inner lives of women, the weight of isolation, the quiet fury of those determined not to disappear. Her words traveled far beyond Newfoundland, making her the first novelist from the island to reach an international audience and landing on the desks of New York Times reviewers. Decades later, her legacy was formally recognized when she was named a National Historic Person in 2007. And yet, for so long, her voice resonated more loudly abroad than at home.
A force of fearlessness and imagination, Margaret’s story is brought vividly to life by the talented Beatrice Vincent. Filmed on location in Bath and the Cotswolds, this chapter of Tapestry returns to her — to the courage it took to write what others would not, and to the enduring power of stories that insist on being heard.
With heartfelt thanks to the Perlin Family Trust, Heritage Canada – Commemorate Canada, and the Congregation of Sisters of Mercy for supporting Tapestry and helping us honour the voices, courage, and legacy of women across Newfoundland and Labrador.
Sources in Order of Appearance:
-
“Historic footage. St. John's during World War I and the 1920s”, Memorial University of Newfoundland Digital Archives Initiative (MUN DAI), Extension Service Collection, Item ID 906.
The Proud City: A Plan for London (1946), directed by Ralph Keene, produced by Ministry of Information and the Central Office of Information. Sourced via Internet Archive (archive.org/details/ProudCity).
“View of St. John's and harbour from Harvey Road”, 1904-1905, Courtesy of The Rooms Provincial Archives Division (Parsons family collection, Series, Item G 1-2; G 3-14), St. John’s, Newfoundland.
Margaret, by Elsie Holloway, ca. 1936. From Extraordinary Passages… by Margot I. Duley (2024). Context: Photograph taken around the time Margaret’s first novel was published.
#OperaOnTheAvalon #MargaretDuley #Tapestry #TapestryNL #NewfoundlandAndLabrador
Before the world was ready for her, Margaret was already writing it down. She captured the restlessness of outport women who refused to be contained, putting on the page what most wouldn’t dare speak aloud — the inner lives of women, the weight of isolation, the quiet fury of those determined not to disappear. Her words traveled far beyond Newfoundland, making her the first novelist from the island to reach an international audience and landing on the desks of New York Times reviewers. Decades later, her legacy was formally recognized when she was named a National Historic Person in 2007. And yet, for so long, her voice resonated more loudly abroad than at home.
A force of fearlessness and imagination, Margaret’s story is brought vividly to life by the talented Beatrice Vincent. Filmed on location in Bath and the Cotswolds, this chapter of Tapestry returns to her — to the courage it took to write what others would not, and to the enduring power of stories that insist on being heard.
With heartfelt thanks to the Perlin Family Trust, Heritage Canada – Commemorate Canada, and the Congregation of Sisters of Mercy for supporting Tapestry and helping us honour the voices, courage, and legacy of women across Newfoundland and Labrador.
Sources in Order of Appearance:
-
“Historic footage. St. John's during World War I and the 1920s”, Memorial University of Newfoundland Digital Archives Initiative (MUN DAI), Extension Service Collection, Item ID 906.
The Proud City: A Plan for London (1946), directed by Ralph Keene, produced by Ministry of Information and the Central Office of Information. Sourced via Internet Archive (archive.org/details/ProudCity).
“View of St. John's and harbour from Harvey Road”, 1904-1905, Courtesy of The Rooms Provincial Archives Division (Parsons family collection, Series, Item G 1-2; G 3-14), St. John’s, Newfoundland.
Margaret, by Elsie Holloway, ca. 1936. From Extraordinary Passages… by Margot I. Duley (2024). Context: Photograph taken around the time Margaret’s first novel was published.
#OperaOnTheAvalon #MargaretDuley #Tapestry #TapestryNL #NewfoundlandAndLabrador