Fiction Treasures by Maritime Writers: Best-selling novelists of Canadas Maritime provinces 1860-1950

Gwendolyn Davies

James Lorimer & Company, Aug 13, 2015 - Literary Criticism - 384 pages

Though little known today, from 1860 to 1940 Canadian novelists from the Maritime provinces were writing highly successful books which were widely read in Canada, the US, and Britain. Although today only Lucy Maud Montgomery is remembered and read, there were several dozen writers who enjoyed the same level of success and renown. This book brings these authors and their most successful books back into the spotlight of Canadian writing.

In 2001, Canadian literature specialist Gwen Davies and Formac publisher James Lorimer set out to republish books by these largely forgotten Maritime authors. Readers can now discover 35 of their novels, all reprinted in Formac's Fiction Treasures series. For each book, series editor Gwen Davies commissioned an introduction by a contemporary scholar who offers a brief biography of the writer and a discussion of the text itself. As Gwen Davies notes, "These introductions not only capture new research in literary biography or publishing history, but also broaden our understanding of regional popular reading tastes from the era of Queen Victoria to the Second World War."

This book brings these introductory essays together in a single volume so that readers can discover these writers and get an overview of their best works.

Contents

• Introduction by Gwendolyn Davies: 7
• Sea Stories InshoreOffshore: 23
• 1 Arthur Chutes The Crested Seas 1928 by Gerald Hallowell: 25
• A Tale of the DeepSea Fishermen 1914 by M Brook Taylor: 37
• 3 Arthur Chutes Far Gold 1927 by Donald MacGillivray: 47
• 4 Frederick William Wallaces Captain Salvation 1925 by M Brook Taylor: 56
• 5 Albert Hickmans The Sacrifice of the Shannon 1903 by Ian Johnston: 64
• 6 Francis Gillmors Thumbcap Weir 1929 by Gwendolyn Davies: 70
• 7 Evelyn Richardsons Desired Haven 1953 by Andrew Seaman: 78
• 8 Evelyn Richardsons No Small Tempest 1957 by Andrew Seaman: 85
• Society and Change: 91
• 9 James De Milles The Lady of the Ice 1870 by George L Parker: 93
• The Romance of Gay Vandeleur 1900 by Gwendolyn Davies: 105
• 11 Alice Jones Gabriel Praeds Castle 1904 by Mora Dianne ONeill: 115
• 12 Charles GD Roberts The Heart That Knows 1906 by Carrie MacMillan: 127
• An Orphan in Search of a Home 1901 by Carole Gerson: 138
• 14 Grace Dean McLeod Rogers Joan At Halfway 1919 by Robin Sutherland: 147
• 15 Helen Milecete Duffus The Strawberry Girls 1923 by Janet B Friskney: 156
• 16 HA Codys Under Sealed Orders 1917 by Ted Jones: 166
• 17 Frank Parker Days River of Strangers 1926 by Alan Wilson: 183
• 18 Louis Arthur Cunninghams Fog Over Fundy 1936 by Gwendolyn Davies: 193
• 19 Basil Kings The High Heart 1917 by Mary Lu MacDonald: 202
• 20 Ralph Connors The Arm of Gold 1932 by John Lennox: 212
• History and Adventure: 221
• 21 Evelyn Eatons Quietly My Captain Waits 1940 by Barry M Moody: 223
• A Tale of Acadia 1874 by Michael Peterman: 231
• 23 Evelyn Eatons Restless Are the Sails 1941 by A J B Johnston: 242
• 24 Charles GD Roberts The Forge in the Forest 1896 by David Creelman: 252
• 25 Evelyn Eatons The Sea Is So Wide 1943 by Valerie M Latus: 262
• A Story of Old Pictou 1923 by Laurie StanleyBlackwell: 271
• 27 Alice Jones A Privateers Fortune 1903 by Dan Conlin: 295
• A Romance of the 60s 1901 by Greg Marquis: 301
• 29 May Agnes Flemings A Changed Heart 1881 by Bonnie Huskins: 310
• 30 Marshall Saunders Rose of Acadia 1898 by Gwendolyn Davies: 322
• Animal Nature and Wilderness: 333
• 31 Margaret Marshall Saunders Beautiful Joe 1894 by Gwendolyn Davies: 335
• 32 Charles GD Roberts Red Fox 1905 by Brian Bartlett: 350
• 33 Charles GD Roberts The Heart of the Ancient Wood 1900 by Thomas Hodd: 359
• A Backwoods Mystery 1912 by Valerie M Latus: 367
• About the Contributors: 374

About the author

GWENDOLYN DAVIES is Professor and Dean Emerita of English at the School of Graduate Studies at the University of New Brunswick, and a leading scholar in the field of Canadian literature. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and lives in Fredericton.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Fiction Treasures by Maritime Writers: Best-selling novelists of Canadas Maritime provinces 1860-1950; Fiction Treasures
• Editor: Gwendolyn Davies
• Publisher: James Lorimer & Company, 2015
• ISBN: 1459503775, 9781459503779
• Length: 384 pages
• Subjects: Literary Collections / Canadian; Literary Collections / General; Literary Criticism / Canadian; Literary Criticism / General