Born on April 9, 1919 in London, Dalzell immigrated with her family later that year to B.C. As the daughter of pioneers Trevor and Meta Williams, she became the founding director of the Port Clements Historical Society & Museum and received the Order of B.C. in 1998 along with her husband, Albert Dalzell. Her first book, The Queen Charlotte Islands, Volume 1: 1774-1966, self-published in 1968, has remained popular for decades, with at least six printings. It was followed by The Queen Charlotte Islands, Book 2 (1973) and a third title, The Beloved Island (1989), that takes the form of a biographical novel about her father who first "set foot on the most westerly part of the British Empire" in 1908, having fought in the Boer War.

Bibliography:

The Queen Charlotte Islands, Volume 1: 1774-1966 (Prince Rupert: Cove Press, 1968; Terrace: C.M. Adam, 1968; Prince Rupert: Cove Press, Vancouver: Evergreen Press Limited, 1973; Queen Charlotte City: Bill Ellis, 1981, 1988; Harbour Publishing, 1993).

The Queen Charlotte Islands, Book 2 of Place Names (Victoria: Fleming-Review Printing Ltd, Prince Rupert: Dalzell Press, 1973. The Queen Charlotte Islands, Volume 2: Places and Names (Harbour Publishing, 1989, 1993).

The Beloved Island: The Queen Charlotte Islands, Volume 3 (Harbour, 1989).

[BCBW 2005] "QCI" "Classic" "Place Names"

Review of the author's work by BC Studies:
The Beloved Island: The Queen Charlotte Islands, vol. 3.