"Wisdom, Justice, and Charity is an engaging and thoughtful study of pioneering social worker Jane Wisdom, whose long career took in the most important decades in the evolution of the Canadian welfare system. Morton's delightful prose and rich descriptions pull the reader into the story of a woman who left many marks on her profession and her communities." -- Karen Balcom, Department of History, McMaster University

One of Canada’s first social workers, Jane B. Wisdom had an active career in social welfare that spanned almost the first half of the twentieth century. Competent, thoughtful, and trusted, she had a knack for being in important places at pivotal moments. Wisdom’s transnational career took her from Saint John to Montreal, New York City, Halifax, and Glace Bay, as well as into almost every field of social work. Her story offers a remarkable opportunity to uncover what life was like for front-line social workers in the profession’s early years.

In Wisdom, Justice, and Charity, historian Suzanne Morton uses Wisdom’s professional life to explore how the welfare state was built from the ground up by thousands of pragmatic and action-oriented social workers. Wisdom’s career illustrates the impact of professionalization, gender, and changing notions of the state – not just on those in the emergent profession of social work but also on those in need. Her life and career stand as a potent allegory for the limits and possibilities of individual action.

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‘This is a remarkable book about a seemingly unremarkable woman… In this rich case study of Jane Wisdom’s career in Canadian social work, Suzanne Morton has made a major contribution to Canadian gender and social welfare history.’

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‘Since Morton has framed her masterful examination of the emerging Canadian welfare state within Wisdom’s career, it will be virtually impossible for future scholars of the Canadian welfare state to ignore the role of women in its on-the-ground construction.’

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‘In this evocative, thoughtfully crafted, and engagingly written political biography of social worker Jane wisdom, Suzanne Morton traces the large historical processes of liberal welfare state expansion and the professionalization of social work through the life and carrier of one individual woman.’