Robert Thacker, author of the biography Alice Munro: Writing Her Lives, published in 2011, admitted on Monday to the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail that he knew of the sexual abuse suffered by one of the writer's daughters but decided not to include it in his book. Nobel Prize winner Andrea Robin Skinner revealed that her stepfather, Gerald Fremlin, sexually abused her since she was nine years old, a fact known to both her mother, Alice Munro, and her biological father, Jim Munro.
Fremlin was sentenced in 2005 to two years' probation for the assaults. However, biographer Thacker called the crime a 'family disagreement' and justified not including it in his biography. He claimed that he received an email from Skinner just when the publication was about to go to press, expressing her desire to include the information, but the text was already finished.
The article in The Toronto Star detailed a systematized practice of abuse spread over several years with the knowledge of the parents, who were separated. This revelation has caused shock and indignation in the literary world. Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood expressed her shock, noting that she only learned the full story from Skinner's account.
On social media, writers and journalists like Lydia Kiesling, Brandon Taylor, and Jiayang Fan have expressed their shock at the news. Novelist Rebecca Makkai questioned whether it would now be possible to separate Munro's transcendent writing from her troubled behavior. Douglas Gibson, Munro's editor for many years, stated that he was aware of the estrangement between Munro and her daughter and learned the reason for the breakup in 2005.
Sheila Munro, one of Skinner's sisters, has stated that the family considered it important to share Skinner's story but does not believe that the revelations should detract from her mother's literary legacy. Andrea Robin Skinner's story begins in the summer of 1976, when she went to spend the holidays with her mother and her husband. While the writer was away, Fremlin got into her bed and abused her. She didn't say anything until she returned to her father's house, where she confessed to one of her brothers, who encouraged her to talk to her stepmother, Carole.
Skinner explains that her father's inability to protect her made her feel isolated. On each vacation, her stepfather took advantage of moments alone with her to show his genitals or make sexual comments. Skinner only realized later that these actions constituted abuse.
In 1992, Skinner approached her mother about the abuse, but Munro's response was disappointing. Munro reacted as if she had been told about a betrayal and chose to stay with Fremlin. Skinner eventually went to the police in 2005, leading to Fremlin's conviction. Despite this, Munro remained with Fremlin until his death in 2013.
Skinner decided to reveal her story to ensure that the reality of what happened to her is included in the narratives surrounding her mother. She does not want another biography or event to ignore the abuse she suffered and her mother's decision to stay with her attacker.
- Deborah Dundas, the journalist who decided to give Skinner a voice and break the silence on this issue, acknowledged that she resisted publishing this information for fear of the repercussions that would have on one of the Canadian cultural myths.
- Margaret Atwood, in her email to *The New York Times*, wrote about Munro’s decision, 'Why did she stay? And what do I know. I think they belonged to a generation and a place that swept things under the rug. You realize that you didn't know who you thought you knew.'
- Douglas Gibson, Munro's editor, stated that he learned the reason for the estrangement in 2005, when Fremlin's shameful role was revealed. However, he added, 'I have nothing to add to this tragic family story.'
