LITMIR.BIZ

First published by Oxford University Press in 1993, Exploration Literature is a groundbreaking collection of early writing inspired by the opening of a continent.With maps, notes, and thumbnail biographies of these early writers, Exploration Literature is an entry point for both the casual reader and the student of Canadian literature into the beginnings of a literate response to the awe and wonder inspired by an unfolding geography and the literary fundamentals of new nationhood.

Подробнее

Self Condemned , originally published in 1954, tells the story of Professor Renarding and his wife, Essie, as they find themselves in Momaco, a fictionalized version of Toronto, following Ren resignation as an academic in London, England. Reduced to a position at the second-rate University of Momaco, Rennd Essie suffer through a bleak and oppressive isolation in a dreary and alien city. The novel, a devastating, disturbing satire of life in wartime Canada, explores the difficulty individuals face as they struggle to adapt to new surroundings while preserving their sense of wholeness, as well as the bond that develops between people during a shared experience of isolation. .

Подробнее

Maria Chapdelaine , the quintessential novel of the rugged life of early French-Canadian colonists, is based on the author's experiences as a hired hand in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean area. A young woman living with her family on the Quebec frontier, Maria endures the hardships of isolation and climate. Maria must eventually choose between three suitors who represent very different ways of life: a trapper, a farmer, and a Parisian immigrant. Powerful in its simplicity, this novel captures the essence of faith and tenacity, the key ingredients of survivance . Translated into many languages, Maria Chapdelaine is enshrined as a classic of Canadian letters. A new introduction by Michael Gnarowski examines its relevance and provides insights into Louis Hemon's life.

Подробнее

Originally published in the early 1950s, The Scalpel, the Sword celebrates the turbulent career of Dr. Norman Bethune (1890-1939), a brilliant surgeon, campaigner against private medicine, communist, and graphic artist. Bethune belonged to that international contingent of individuals who recognized the threat of fascism in the world and went out courageously to try to defeat it. Born in Gravenhurst, Ontario, Bethune introduced innovative techniques in treating battlefield injuries and pioneered the use of blood transfusions to save lives, which made him a legend first in Spain during the civil war and later in China when he served with the armies of Mao Zedong in their fight against the invading Japanese. He is today remembered amongst the pantheon of Chinese revolutionary heroes. In Canada Bethune’s strong left-wing views made him persona non grata, but this highly readable and engaging account has helped to sustain the memory of a great man.

Подробнее

No amount of drama between the Dark and Penhallow families can prepare them for what follows when Aunt Becky bequeaths her prized heirloom jug – the owner to be revealed in one year's time. The intermarriages, and resulting fighting and feuding, that have occurred over the years grow more intense as Gay Penhallow's fiancé leaves her for the devious Nan Penhallow; Peter Penhallow and Donna Dark find love after a lifelong hatred of each other; and Joscelyn and Hugh Dark, inexplicably separated on their wedding night, are reunited. Hopes and shortcomings are revealed as we follow the fates of the clan for an entire year. The legendary jug sits amid this love, heartbreak, and hilarity as each family member works to acquire the heirloom. But on the night that the eccentric matriarch's wishes are to be revealed, both families find the biggest surprise of all.

Подробнее

One of Canada’s most painful and breathtaking pictures of a soldier’s life during the First World War. Peregrine Acland’s novel All Else Is Folly is an irreplaceable depiction of the Canadian experience in the First World War. More than just a devastating portrayal of the terrors and hardships of trench warfare, the novel is also a profound meditation on the nature of man, one that draws on both the Nietzschean notion of man as warrior and Havelock Ellis’s idea of man as lover. Subtitled «a tale of war and passion,» the novel was something of a bestseller in its time and drew significant critical praise. Canadian Prime Minister Sir Robert Borden remarked: «No more vivid picture has been painted of what war meant to the average soldier.» Originally published in 1929, Acland’s war story had transatlantic success, with editions published under the Constable imprint in England, and by Coward-McCann and Grosset & Dunlap in the United States. The Canadian edition published by McClelland & Stewart enjoyed three printings. This new edition marks a return to print after more than eight decades.

Подробнее

Подробнее

Author is a recognized standard-bearer for an era in Canadian literature when traditional forms and subjects were being challenged by radical social and cultural change A classic novel by the Governor General’s Award winner (1949) Author served in the First World War and used his experiences for the novel

Подробнее

The Town Below changed the face of Québécois literature. The Town Below takes place in St. Joseph Parish of Quebec City’s Saint-Sauveur suburb. Saint-Sauveur is a parochial and provincial place where narrow piety and corruption can be found in every corner, and Denis and Lise, two adolescents in love, scandalize the town with their affair. Scheming politicians and clergymen and grasping social climbers mix with salt-of-the-earth citizens in a rough-and-tumble satiric assault on pre-Quiet Revolution Quebec mores and attitudes. The Town Below  won the Prix David and the Prix de la langue française. Lemelin was also awarded Guggenheim and Rockefeller fellowships. A bestseller in Quebec when it originally appeared,  The Town Below  has been called the «pioneer novel of working-class Quebec» and exploded, with great controversy, the smothering social and religious strictures prevalent among postwar Québécois. The novel was first published in English by Reynal & Hitchcock in 1948.

Подробнее

The writing of Robert W. Service is mostly known through his poems and ballads. Immortalized by his two iconic ballads, «The Cremation of Sam McGee» and «The Shooting of Dan McGrew,» he has entered the world’s imagination as the Bard of the Yukon. But Service was much more than a chronicler of the Great North. A traveller and adventurer who tried his hand at many occupations, Service left a fascinating set of impressions: the successful literary life in the course of which he produced everything from poems and ballads to fictional romance to thrillers and how to stave off the dreary process of aging. Robert W. Service is a fresh selection of the most interesting and significant works of the author with a biographical introduction and a select bibliography of additional readings.

Подробнее