Adventurers, criminals, eccentrics, rogue politicians and other scandalous types all come to life in the pages of Scoundrels and Scallywags. Meet Bill Peyto (pictured on the cover), the legendary mountain man who once let a lynx loose in a saloon to see how quickly the drunks could escape. Or Calgary's notorious prostitute Pearl Miller, who left such an impression with Canadian soldiers in the Second World War that they responded to the American sign "Remember Pearl Harbor" with "To hell with Pearl Harbour, remember Pearl Miller." Or Elizabeth "Sweaty Betty" Abbott, an Edmonton slum landlord...

Why did Tennessee Williams choose a Vancouver theatre company to mount the world premiere of his last professionally produced stage play? Why does the song "Amazing Grace" still occupy a very special place in the repertoire of singer Judy Collins? Why did Robertson Davies abandon what appeared to be a successful career as a playwright in Canada to start writing novels? Why did Sophia Loren go back to Italy to serve a jail term for tax evasion? Why did Tom Lehrer totally disappear from the scene after establishing himself as one of America's cleverest and wittiest satirical songwriters? Why...

Mary O'Leary (Maire Bhui Ni Laoire) was one of the most celebrated Irish-language folk poets of the 19th century. She composed songs that were built to last - songs collected and preserved by folklorists that now occupy a significant place in the repertoires of contemporary traditional performers. In this, the first full-length treatment of the life, times and poetry of Mary O'Leary, Irish-Canadian author Brian Brennan examines the phenomenon of one of the few female oral poets of her generation to achieve name recognition after her death.