Isabella Valancy Crawford (1850-1887) came to Canada from Dublin, Ireland and eventually settled in Toronto. "Old Spookses' Pass, Malcolm's Katie, and other poems" (1884) was her sole published book of poetry, and it sold few copies. But with J.W. Garvin's "The Collected Poems of Isabella Valancy Crawford" (1905) and Katherine Hale's "Isabella Valancy Crawford" (1923), she became known as a serious writer. A posthumous publication is "The Halton Boys: A Story for Boys" (1979, Borealis).

Isabella Valancy Crawford is known primarily as the author of MalcolmÕs Kate but should be equally know for her beautiful fairy tales.