Intelligence, practical shrewdness, vital energy, and persistence were the predominant qualities associated with Desmond Pacey. These were displayed in his own writing and editing, in his family and community life, and in academic administration. He was essentially a pioneer, an initiator and inspirational force during a period of changing attitudes within English literature in Canada and changes in the nature and development of Canadian universities. Although he was the author of a few children's poems and a moderately well-received volume of short fiction, he is best remembered as the critic and literary historian who outlined the territory covered by the designation English-Canadian literature .

William Cyril Desmond Pacey was born in Dunedin, New Zealand, son of William Pacey of that city and Mary Elizabeth Hunt Pacey of Nottingham, England. His father's early death led to his mother's return to England where Pacey was educated at Magnus School in Newark...