Helen Mary Greenwood Campbell Reynolds
Helen Mary Greenwood Campbell Reynolds was a Canadian author born in 1884 in Regina, Saskatchewan. Over a writing career that spanned nearly twenty-five years, she produced numerous novels for young adults, along with hundreds of short stories, essays, and poems. Reynolds began her writing journey later in life, with her first published work, *Yoshio*, appearing in 1937, and she released new novels regularly until 1960. Many of her popular works were published under the pseudonym Dickson Reynolds, including titles like *Angry River* and *The Fur Brigade*. Her stories often featured resilient young protagonists, both boys and girls, who navigated challenges and pursued their dreams through determination and hard work. Notably, her novels frequently reflected her personal experiences, such as her childhood and her insights into the fur trade. Reynolds also contributed illustrations for several of her works and collaborated with her son on the novel *Brother Scouts*. She was recognized for her contributions to literature and forestry, becoming a life member of the Canadian Forestry Association after her novel *Fire Patrol* was published. Helen Mary Greenwood Campbell Reynolds passed away in 1969, leaving behind a legacy of literature that resonates with young readers.
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Subject Terms
Helen Mary Greenwood Campbell Reynolds
Writer
- Born: 1884
- Birthplace: Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
- Died: January 21, 1969
Biography
In a writing career spanning almost twenty-five years, Helen Mary Greenwood Campbell Reynolds drew upon her own experiences in remote regions of Canada to write numerous novels for young adults as well as hundreds of short stories, essays, and poems. In addition to her writing, she also contributed illustrations to several of her works.
Reynolds began her writing career relatively late in life. She was born in 1884 in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, the daughter of John Joseph Campbell, a manager and a smelter, and Eva Delisle Greenwood Campbell. She married Godwin G. Dickson, and after his death she married Herbert F. Reynolds in 1922. Reynolds had three children: Mary Olivia Seal, Ruth Quayle Grant, and Gerald Blackett.
In 1927, Reynolds turned to writing fiction. Her first published work was Yoshio in 1937. Until 1960 she wrote regularly, bringing out a new novel every one to three years. Some of her most popular works were written under the pseudonym Dickson Reynolds and included Angry River (1951), The Fur Brigade (1953), Karen Presents (1955), and We Chased a Rainbow (1957). The protagonists in Reynolds’s novels are plucky young people, both boys and girls, who achieve their goals through hard work and determination. In Angry River a young boy who dreams of being a doctor finds himself in the middle of a mystery. The Fur Brigade draws upon Reynolds’s sexperience with the fur trade by describing a fur trading expedition for the Hudson Bay Company in the Columbia River region of Canada. In both Karen Presents and We Chased a Rainbow, Reynolds chooses young women as the main characters. Karen Presents, a novel that draws upon Reynolds’s childhood, follows the story of a young girl who raises money by putting on marionette shows in the lumber camps and fishing villages of the Pacific Northwest. We Chased a Rainbow is set in Banff, Alberta, and tells the story of two young girls, Mary and Elaine, who set off on their own to try to make their way in the world.
Reynolds wrote one novel, Brother Scouts (1952), with her son Gerry Reynolds. After the publication of her novel Fire Patrol in 1949, she was made a life member of the Canadian Forestry Association. She died in 1969.