One hundred years ago today, the Toronto Globe published a short article about a YMCA book contest. The Association had asked participants to provide a list of "the twelve books in English, which together give the best picture of life and development in Canada." Just how many participated is a mystery. What we do know that these lists of twelve included a total of 108 books by 85 different authors.
The three most common titles were:
The Golden Dog - William Kirby
Maria Chapdelaine - Louis Hémon [trans W.H. Blake]
Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town - Stephen Leacock
All three are in print, though I dare say only the Leacock would be recognized by any measurable percentage of YMCA members today.
Seven titles are tied for the fourth position, which suggests limited participation. What follows are the fourth place titles and authors aspresented in the Globe article:
Sam Slick - Judge Haliburton
Lords of the North - Agnes Laut
Roughing It in the Bush - Susanne Moodie
Anne of Green Gables - L.M. Montgomery
Seats of the Mighty - Sir Gilbert Parker
Chez Nous - Revard
Three observations:
- Judge Haliburton (Thomas Chandler Haliburton) never published a book titled Sam Slick;
- "Susanne Moodie" is actually Susanna Moodie;
- the surname of the man who write Chez Nous is Rivard not "Revard." I have no idea why his first name is absent.
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| Chez Nous Adjutor Rivard [trans W.H. Blake] Toronto: McClellend & Stewart, 1924 |
Judges Dr George H. Locke and Vernon Mackenzie awarded first place to May Knowlton of Montreal for her list of twelve:
The Foreigner - Ralph ConnorThe Habitant - Dr DrummondFlint and Feather - Pauline JohnsonThe Golden Dog - William KirbySunshine Sketches of a Little Town - Stephen LeacockRomance of Western Canada - R.G. MacbethMontcalm and Wolfe - Francis ParkmanPioneer of France in the New World - Francis ParkmanTrail of '98 - Robert W. ServiceThe Prairie Wife - Arthur StringerThe Life of Sir William Van Horne - Walter Vaughan
No prize is mentioned.
I wonder what the judges would've thought of mine:
There's a good chance that Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town, Anne of Green Gables and Sara Jeanette Duncan's The Imperialist would bump off three, but it's been forty years since I've read any of them.
You don't want to trust that kid's opinions.
Related posts:
Canada's 100 Best Books? 102? 111?
How do you decide who is a Canadian writer and what is a Canadian novel? Wyndham Lewis was born in - or off the coast of - Canada, but only went back in WWII and only set one novel there - Self-Condemned, but it's a strong candidate for a modern list.
ReplyDeleteYou ask a good question. I've touched on the matter of nationality a few times in posts on Saul Bellow, Mark Strand, Malcolm Lowry, and Ross Macdonald (since expanded for The Dusty Bookcase book). You'll see that I refer to Lewis in the Mark Strand post.
ReplyDeleteMy position is relatively simple:
Born in Canada? The author is Canadian.
Became a Canadian citizen? The author is Canadian.
Things get a bit murky when considering writers who were around before the Canadian Citizenship Act. I count Robert Service for the simple reason that there was no such thing as Canadian citizenship during his years in Canada. He was a British subject, just like my Canadian-born grandparents. Grey Owl falls into the same category. I do not count Malcolm Lowry, whose time in Canada spanned the years before and after the Act, for the reason that he never sought citizenship.
You've reminding me that I have two copies of Self-Condemned, one a first edition, and yet have never read the novel.
Must get to it.
Hi Brian, I think your criteria for "Canadian" status are reasonable. But by any measure Francis Parkman is simply an American. Did his book get on May Knowlton's list just because of the subject matter? By the way, I wonder if she had a connection with the village in the Townships?
ReplyDeleteHello Patrick, I agree wholeheartedly about Francis Parkman. When I read his name (twice!), my immediate thought was that maybe, just maybe the judges didn't know he was American. But then, the judges were George Locke (Chief Librarian of the Toronto Public Library) and Vernon Mackenzie (editor of Maclean's). I suppose we could look at the inclusion of Maria Chapdelaine similarly. I once got into a rather heated debate with a friend who insisted that Hémon would've become a Canadian citizen had he not been struck by a train. Of course, this same friend also argued that we should no longer consider Mavis Gallant Canadian because she'd lived the better part of her life in Paris.
DeleteI searched for Miss Knowlton in newspapers and census records, but came up with nothing. I did find an Agnes May Knowlton in Westmount - according to her 1945 obituary, she was the past grand dame of the Order of the Eastern Star - but Knowton has her married name.