author
Charlotte Selina Bompas
1830–1917
A determined missionary writer who left the comfort of England for the far north of Canada, she turned years of travel, hardship, and community work into vivid memoirs and stories. Her life offers a close-up view of Anglican mission life in the Yukon and Mackenzie regions in the late 19th century.
1 Audiobook
Owindia : a true tale of the MacKenzie River Indians, North-West America
by Charlotte Selina Bompas
About the author
Born Charlotte Selina Cox in England on February 24, 1830, she later became known as Charlotte Selina Bompas after marrying Bishop William Carpenter Bompas in 1874. She is remembered as a missionary, speaker, and memoirist whose work was closely tied to the Anglican missions of northern Canada.
After her marriage, she joined her husband in the Canadian northwest and spent many years in demanding frontier conditions, especially in the Yukon and Mackenzie regions. Accounts of her life describe long journeys, practical endurance, and a deep involvement in missionary work among northern communities at a time when travel and daily life were often extremely difficult.
She also wrote about these experiences. Her best-known works include Owindia: a true tale of the Mackenzie River Indians, North-West America and the memoir material later collected in A Heroine of the North. She died in Montreal on January 21, 1917, leaving behind a record of northern mission life that still interests readers of Canadian history.