Rosemary Sexton (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Robinson; born 20 December 1946) is a Canadian author and former columnist for ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

''. She is the author of the books ''The Glitter Girls,'' ''Confessions of a Society Columnist'' and ''Home Before Dark.'' During her career at The Globe and Mail, she was known as Canada's most influential social columnist.

Biography

Sexton was born in 1946 in

Haileybury, Ontario Temiskaming Shores is a city in the Timiskaming District in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It was created by the amalgamation of the town of New Liskeard, the town of Haileybury, and the township of Dymond in 2004. The city had a total populatio ...

, and attended Haileybury High School and

Havergal College Havergal College is a private day and boarding school for girls from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school was established in 1894 and named for Frances Ridley Havergal, a composer, author and humanitarian. The ...

. She enrolled in Modern Languages and Literature at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

in 1965. At the end of her first year she married Murray Black and moved with him to Sudbury, where she transferred to Laurentian University and graduated in 1968. Sexton began her career in education after attending the Ontario College of Education. After teaching high school for five years, she entered

Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the ''Journal of Law and Social Policy'', and the ''Osgoode Hall Law Journal ...

where she obtained an LLB in 1976, the same year she received an MA in English from

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

. Sexton was called to the

Ontario Bar The Law Society of Ontario (LSO; ) is the law society responsible for the self-regulation of lawyers and paralegals in the Canadian province of Ontario. Founded in 1797 as the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC; ), its name was changed by statu ...

in 1978 and worked as a tax lawyer before becoming a censor for the Ontario Censor Board. In 1979 she married

J. Edgar Sexton John Edgar Sexton (28 October 1936 – 1 November 2019) is a former judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all ...

(1936–2019), a prominent lawyer. She left the field of law and became a stay-at-home mother, where she spent about 10 years prior to starting her writing career. During that decade, she served on the board of multiple charities including Family Day Care Services, Canadian Psychiatric Awareness Committee, Toronto Pops Orchestra, Wellesley Hospital Volunteer Committee, and the Toronto Symphony Women's Committee. Sexton’s career in writing began when she became a columnist for ''The Globe and Mail'' in 1988. She was hired to succeed Zena Cherry and wrote a society column three times a week until 1993. It was in 1993 that she published the book ''The Glitter Girls'', a Canadian bestseller, and followed up with the book ''Confessions of a Society Columnist'' in 1995. ''Home Before Dark'' was published in May 2014. In addition to her work at ''The Globe and Mail'' and her published works, she was a regular contributor to the ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper and the flagship publication of the American-owned Postmedia Network. It is published Mondays through Saturdays, with Monday released as a digital e-edition only.

'' as well as writing for ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...

Magazine''.

Bibliography

* 1995, ''Confessions of a Society Columnist'', Macmillan Canada, * 1993, ''The Glitter Girls'', Macmillan, * 2014, ''Home Before Dark'', Kayak Press,

Biography

Bibliography

See also

References

Further reading