Elizabeth Abbott is a writer and historian with a special interest in social justice and women's issues, the treatment and lives of animals, and the environment. Before moving to Toronto in 1991, she lived in Montreal and Port-au-Prince. She has a doctorate from McGill University and is a Research Associate at Trinity College, University of Toronto where from 1991 to 2004 she was Dean of Women. Her books have been translated into 16 languages, and include the best-selling A History of Celibacy and A History of Mistresses. A History of Mistresses (2010) is the final volume in this historical relationship trilogy.
In 1991 Abbott won a National Magazine Award for Environmental Writing. Her book, Sugar: A Bittersweet History was short-listed for the 2009 Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction. Abbott lives with dogs and cats and is a dog rescuer. She coordinated Mt. Sinai Hospital's pet therapy program for over a decade and served as Vice-President of a local historical society. She is the Antigua and Barbuda Association of Toronto's Book Drive Coordinator, and volunteers for Tafelmusik. She is a member of two book clubs.
PUBLICATIONS:
A History of Marriage. Penguin, 2010
Sugar: A Bittersweet History. Penguin, 2008
A History of Mistresses. Toronto: HarperCollins, 2003.
A History of Celibacy. Toronto: HarperCollins, 1999.
Chronicle of Canada. Editor-in-chief. Montreal: Chronicle Publications, 1990.
Haiti: The Duvaliers and their Legacy. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998.
Tropical Obsession: A Universal Tragedy in Four Acts. Port-au-Prince: Edition Deschamps, 1986.
AWARDS:
National Magazine Award for Environmental Writing, 1991
