Marian Engel

Marian Engel (née Passmore) was a celebrated Canadian novelist and short-story writer, best known for her Governor General's Award-winning novel Bear (1976), which depicts an erotic relationship between an archivist and a bear[1][3]. She was a founding member and first Chairperson of the Writers' Union of Canada and was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1982[1][3]. Engel died of cancer in Toronto in 1985 after a distinguished literary career that included works exploring complex female protagonists and the human condition[2][3].