A Canadian writer and journalist born and based in Vancouver, Mary McAlpine wrote fiction, various articles published in journals and newspapers, short stories with some turning into radio plays, and documentaries for the National Film Board. McAlpine graduated from the University of British Columbia with a bachelor of arts degree and began her career as a copy and radio writer for an advertising agency. In 1954, she joined The Sun staff. Some of her best-known journalistic work was her columns written from Europe as a tourist, and a series titled Other Women's Shoes. She married writer Kildare Dobbs in 1958, and had two daughters, Sarah and Lucinda. She also wrote a biography of Ethel Wilson that was published in 1988. Mary McAlpine passed away in Vancouver February 3, 1993.