Juliet McMaster , a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, is a world--renowned scholar of 19th--century English literature and a winner of the Canada Council Molson Prize. She recently retired from the University of Alberta, where she was the first faculty member to receive the University Cup. She has written and co--authored books on Jane Austen, William Makepeace Thackeray, Anthony Trollope, and Charles Dickens. A former member of the Canadian fencing team, McMaster was named Alberta's athlete of the year in 1965. She lives in Edmonton, Alberta.