Unbuttoned : A History Of Mackenzie King's Secret Life [ Prince Albert Member Of Parliment]

An examination of the posthumous reputation of Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, who represented the federal riding of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, from 1926 to 1945. Rather than a conventional biography, this study traces how knowledge of King’s private diaries—kept from the 1890s until his death in 1950—gradually entered the public domain despite his instructions that they be destroyed.

Dummitt reconstructs the decisions of King’s literary executors, the handling and eventual release of the diaries, and the controversies that followed, including unauthorized copies, archival theft, and official investigations. The book surveys the succession of biographies, journalistic accounts, and cultural portrayals that reshaped King’s image from reserved statesman to a figure associated with spiritualism and unconventional personal interests.

Notes adapted from the publisher's information.