Adele Wiseman discusses Laurence's writing progress. Abstract. Laurence enjoys the view from her cottage. The Stone Angel was published in 1964, and was the first of Laurence's group of "Manawaka novels", so called because they each take place in the fictional prairie town of Manawaka, a community modelled after Laurence's hometown of Neepawa, Manitoba. She is one of the major novelists in Canadian literature. Margaret Laurence was one of the most influential Canadian novelists and essayists of the 20th century. Margaret Laurence, in full Jean Margaret Laurence, née Wemys, (born July 18, 1926, Neepawa, Manitoba, Canada—died January 5, 1987, Lakefield, Ontario), Canadian writer whose novels portray strong women striving for self-realization while immersed in the daily struggle to make a living in a male-dominated world. Her most celebrated works, set in the fictional town of Manawaka, helped to establish the Canadian prairie as a literary setting. Margaret Laurence’s The Diviners 4 is the last novel in the series of Manawaka fic tion. After Laurence’s first novel This Side Jordan won the Beta Sigma Phi First Novel Award, her heroines in her Manawaka novels The Stone Angel (1964), A Jest of God (1966), The Fire-Dwellers (1969) and The Diviners (1974) were all drawn to Vancouver. She is well-known for her Manawaka novels- The Stone The Diviners [inscribed, Author's reprint review copy with her corrections] by Laurence, Margaret and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at AbeBooks.com. Margaret Laurence is rightly regarded as a major Canadian writer, and "The Diviners" may be her greatest literary achievement. Born in 1926 as Jean Margaret Wemyss in Neepawa, Manitoba (the inspiration for the town of Manawaka in her novels), she was primarily raised by her aunt after her parents died. As part of her "Manawaka cycle" of novels, "The Diviners" is sourced out of Laurence's conception of an archetypal Canadian prairie town and its inhabitants. Margaret Laurence was one of the most influential Canadian novelists and essayists of the 20th century. Canadian author Margaret Laurence was born in the prairie, her native town Neepawa, in Manitoba, becoming the fictional Manawaka. In her best-loved novel, The Stone Angel, Margare… In this celebrated novel, Margaret Laurence write… Stacey MacAindra burns – to burst through the sha… One of Canada’s most accomplished authors combine… The Diviners is the culmination and completion of…. Laurence reflects on flaws in a novel and fear of the blank page. Laurence’s writing style was rooted in the conventions of realism and the rhythms of ordinary speech, and her best-known novels were defined by regionalism and feminism. Margaret Laurence writes most of "The Diviners" at her summer cottage.