The Vanishing of Margaret Small: An uplifting and page-turning mystery

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After hearing her wonderful siblings speak so beautifully about Marga, her passions and her principles, at the funeral service, it hits home what an absence her passing leaves behind for all who knew her. My condolences to her family, friends, and (the many) wider communities of which she was such an integral part. This was a lovely book, I thoroughly enjoyed it, although it was quite sad, but ultimately uplifting. You may need tissues, especially towards the end. I know I did. Margaret Small is an American lesbian activist and was noted for teaching Lesbianism 101 with Madeline Davis at the State University of New York Buffalo. [1] This is the first lesbianism course in the United States. [1] Small was also a civil rights activist.

The Vanishing of Margaret Small is an emotional journey from her childhood to present day. Margaret may have been slower than others and unable to read or write but she has the biggest heart. Her sweet innocence, her kindness and compassion for others shines through.On behalf of the National Maritime Museum: Sally Archer, Research & Heritage Partnerships Manager, and former Director of Research Dr Margarette Lincoln

Marga is one of the most brimming-with-life people I have ever known. Sometimes it felt as though she was constantly in motion, rushing off somewhere with her folding bicycle, bemoaning the complexities of childcare and commuting arrangements, but at the same time she managed to make time for everybody, and was a meticulous and demanding perfectionist. She was always the first to volunteer to help out if she could: for example when I moved house during term time, she was ready to step in and take on teaching and marking for me. She had strong views on subjects like the importance of timed examinations as a form of assessment, and on the availability of opportunities for students to learn languages. She was certainly not infallible, frequently losing or misplacing her keys, her phone, her train pass, and technology was one of her most significant bêtes noires– when the university introduced a new online system for marking student work, in the early stages Marga’s computer managed to lose her painstakingly-typed comments with alarming regularity. The frequency of her Facebook updates was only matched by their poor spelling and grammar – as she told me once, this was one concession to her busy schedule: proof-reading was for her professional life, but Facebook was for fun. Far from being exhausted by all of the commuting, running, cycling, research, writing, teaching, administration, coffees, lunches, world book day costumes, music, reading, and travel, though, she seemed to thrive on it. And it was clear that at the centre of her world was her family – Joel, Clara, Douglas, her parents, her siblings – and her faith. It’s not a faith I share, but it’s certainly one I admire, and it drove her to live the kind of life that anybody would be immensely proud to live. Everybody who knew Marga was enriched by the experience, and in losing her in her prime, so suddenly and unexpectedly, we are all diminished: but we are better people for having known her, and her memory and example will live on undimmed. Margaret Thatcher (born October 13, 1925, Grantham, Lincolnshire, England—died April 8, 2013, London) British Conservative Party politician and prime minister (1979–90), Europe’s first woman prime minister. The only British prime minister in the 20th century to win three consecutive terms and, at the time of her resignation, Britain’s longest continuously serving prime minister since 1827, she accelerated the evolution of the British economy from statism to liberalism and became, by personality as much as achievement, the most renowned British political leader since Winston Churchill. She was a role model for a later prime minister, Liz Truss. Early years Most of all, though, Marga had the best possible approach and attitude to her work. To her core Marga loved her job, her department and her discipline. She had the most enormous energy, passion and dedication to all aspects of being a historian, researcher and lecturer, coupled with a generosity of spirit, mountains of goodwill and a genuine desire to serve the academic community. It is hard to express the loss we feel but we are committed to keeping Marga’s memory and values alive in all that we continue to do. She will never be far from our thoughts. We loved her and will never forget her. Over the last few years, we met frequently at the University’s west gate. Pushing her foldable bike through the crowd (never cycling when there were too many pedestrians around her), that came out of the train station, donning her high viz-west and deep in thoughts – until she saw a familiar face; this is when her unique smile came on, a smile that felt like a ray of sunshine on a cold day, a smile that always made me feel good. This is how I will remember her.It is written in the same language and style that I imagine her talking in. Bad grammar and all. This makes the story feel authentic. I imagine the audible version would be good. There are a few characters that are a bit clichéd at the home where she grew up. But there are lots of interesting secondary characters. Marga always made time for a chat. As we all know, a chat is the social glue that holds us together especially at work, the foundation for building community. Marga made time for a chat because she loved people, she cared, she got involved. Marga was our glue and we all will have to make a special effort now to continue in that spirit without her.

Ich bin so begeistert von dieser Geschichte. Aufgefallen ist mir das Buch - ich glaube, auf Facebook - und als ich es als Rezensionsexemplar erhalten habe, freute ich mich sehr. Ich wusste nicht genau, was mich erwarten würde, aber mit dieser intensiven Story habe ich nicht einmal ansatzweise gerechnet. In recent years, especially since the pandemic, our paths crossed less frequently. When we did meet, she was invariably the most rewarding of companions: always interesting and interested, perceptive, generous and kind. I regret not seeing her more often, and deeply regret all those future conversations we’ll never have. I cannot imagine what her family must be going through, and I send them all my most heartfelt sympathies. Marga was also an extremely dedicated and inspirational teacher, who delighted in taking her students (and, indeed, her colleagues) on amazing, virtual voyages to worlds long gone. That one of Marga’s modules was called ‘Piracy, Plunder, Peoples and Exploitation: English Exploration in the Tudor Period’, conveys something of her ability to capture the imagination of students while also provoking deep thought around historical injustice and its continued presence in the world today.It is no surprise that it was often to Marga that we turned for Admissions talks to prospective students, a task she relished and delivered with characteristic aplomb to hundreds of young historians-in-training at open days and visit days. To lose a good friend and wonderful colleague so suddenly is overwhelming, and it feels unbearably cruel that we are here again.Like all of us, I have been thinking about Marga a lot over the past few weeks.I have remembered our conversations about bicycles and cycling holidays. I have remembered how much I enjoyed reading or listening to her talk about her work - her learnedness, her scholarship, her range, her passion.Above all, I have thought about the sheer vitality, energy, kindness, and importance of her presence within the department - about what we gained from having her as a colleague, and what we have now lost. Take a Look at Our Summary of November Highlights, Whether You're Looking for the Latest Releases or Gift InspirationThe Vanishing of Margaret Small is a story that tore at my heart, had me shedding tears in places, but also had me laughing out loud in others. There are some plot points, mainly about Margaret’s younger years, that are brushed off hastily. I would have loved some more details on these gaps.

Thank you to Bonnier UK Audio, Embla Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own. Close to the end, we were told Margaret's birth date. I'd like to think this is why I felt that she was so special to me. My own daughter was born on Margaret's birthday. Alexander, who has had poems published in Magma , The Interpreter’s House and Southbank Poetry , said: “ The Vanishing of Margaret Small has been 15 years in the making, so I am delighted it has finally found a home with Jane and the wonderful team at Embla Books.At work I came to know Marga best through things like open days and OVDs and the long committee meetings involved with things like the curriculum review working group. Those unsung and unseen things which people often try to avoid but to which Marga seemed to instinctively gravitate. And so I have thought about what it means to be a good citizen, what it is that keeps our work going, and how we value those things.I did not always agree with Marga's answers on issues around assessment and pedagogy, but I have always known that she was asking the right questions - however difficult or challenging or unwelcome I might have found those questions at the time. It is a small example, but I don't think we would have made the progress we have with our DL programmes if it had not been for Marga's tenacity and insistence on lifting the bonnet to see exactly what was going on. Importantly, I have always known that those questions have been underpinned by Marga's unswerving commitment to doing the right thing by our students and our community.We are diminished by Marga's loss - in ways that are incomprehensible right now - but we have been privileged to know and learn from her. I remember Marga as a kind, generous and committed colleague, someone who was always more willing to praise than to criticise. She also explicitly recognised the importance of good quality teaching. As Head of Postgraduate Taught Courses in History and Cultures, Marga was a supporter of the value and quality of the MA in West Midlands History, which I convened and I appreciated her support for the programme. Shortly after she arrived in the University, I remember talking with her about our Canadian origins (my mother came from Saskatchewan), and I was able to share my fond impressions of visiting Edmonton, Marga’s home town. Marga was a good person and I remember her with affection.