Mary Quayle Innis: Faculty Wives' Contributions and the Making of Academic Celebrity

Mary Quayle Innis (1899–1972) was instrumental in forging the career and legacy of her husband, Harold Adams Innis (1894–1952). Her labours on his behalf included typing, editing, writing, researching, preparing indices, curating his papers, revising his publications, and bringing his manuscripts to press. Quayle also ran errands, shopped, did laundry, prepared food, and provided care for Innis and their four children. She further often networked and hosted academic gatherings. All of this work made it possible for Innis to publish prolifically, advance his career, and become central to the English-Canadian academic canon. This article argues that it is time to give Quayle the credit she is due. It is also time to re-evaluate the importance of caring labour within the academy.