AT FACE VALUE: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF ELIZA MCCORMACK/ JOHN WHITE Don Akenson Montreal, McGill-Queens University Press, 1990. 245pp, cloth, $24.95 ISBN 0-7735-0765-5. CIP Grades 12 and up/Ages 17 and up Reviewed by Louise Dick. Volume 19 Number 1 1991 January In 1871 "I became the first woman elected to the Canadian Parliament." The MP for East Hastings 1871-1887 was known as John White. Akenson's investigations have led to the conclusion that the MP was actually Eliza McCormack White, sister of John White who died in County Donegal at about fifteen years of age. Drawing on his skills as historian and his familiarity with Irish history, the Queen's professor of history explores the mystery of Eliza/John's identity and re-creates her childhood in County Donegal, emigration to Canada West, and political career. While much of the reconstruction is necessarily speculative, it is firmly rooted in the social and political ambiance of Donegal and Ontario. Events and personalities seem vivid in present-tense narrative, mostly in the first person. Catherine Parr Trail, Susanna Moodie, John A. Macdonald are seen through the eyes of an MP who is active in the Orange Order, finds the Commons tedious, but enjoys playing the politician. Less convincing is Akenson's treatment of the domestic and sexual aspects of Eliza's life as "John," "husband" of Esther Johnston. Akenson's extensive "Note on Sources" includes valuable commentary as well as bibliographical material. There is no index. He has produced an intriguing piece of the deconstruction and reconstruction of "perceived historical reality," which his preface cites as the hallmark of good biography. Louise Dick, Toronto, Ont.