The Canadian Novel

A collection of essays about contemporary Canadian novels by Margaret Atwood, Robertson Davies, Margaret Laurence, Alice Munro, Mordechai Richler, Rudy Weibe, as edited by professor of English at the University of Ottawa John Moss.

Murder On The Canadian finds Tom Austen on board the sleek passenger train — The Canadian, where he must race to solve the murder of Catherine Saks before the killer finds him first. Appealing to children's inherent keen interest in mystery, Eric Wilson has skillfully woven accurate Canadian geographic and historic information into his writing. As such, these novels lend themselves to the integrated study of the mystery genre with Canadian geography topics in social studies, and investigation units in science. Murder On The Canadian provides rich material for the study of setting, characterization and plot development. This Novel Study provides a teacher and student section with a variety of activities, chapter questions, crossword, and answer key to create a well-rounded lesson plan.

This monograph is the first academic work to apply a neo-Marxist approach to 20th-century Canadian social realist novels, pursuing a refreshingly (neo-)Marxist approach to such issues as Bakhtinian notions of the novelistic form and dialogism as applied to Canadian socio-political novels influenced by various socialisms, socialist-feminist concerns, economic and sexual politics, and the genre of social realism. In so doing, it demonstrates that Marxist socialism is as relevant today as it was in the 1930s, just as social realist novels continue to thrive as a critique of capitalism. Readers will find valuable insights into the social significance, formal innovations, moral sensitivity, aesthetic enrichment, and ideological complexity of Canadian social realist novels.

La presente tesis se centra en el género novelístico en lengua inglesa como paradigma de la Identidad literaria canadiense con el fin de analizar su construcción restrictiva por medio de la Recuperación de contribuciones de mujeres y autores étnicos que han sido bien relegadas o bien infravaloradas como agentes literarios relevantes. Esta investigación abarca un periodo que comprende desde la publicación de la primera novela canadiense en inglés, The History of Emily Montague de Frances Brooke en 1769, hasta 1904 año en el que la obra de Sara Jeannette Duncan titulada The Imperialist vió la luz; es decir, desde los comienzos del género en inglés hasta la primera novela modernista. La primera parte engloba el marco teórico general del Nuevo Historicismo, el Feminismo y los Estudios Étnicos puesto que resaltan el papel crucial de la historización de la literatura en la creación de tradiciones e identidades literarias, e impulsan una visión crítica tanto de la producción literaria de mujeres y escritores étnicos como de su consideración. La segunda parte se centra en la historia, tradición e identidad literarias canadienses. Por medio de la novela, se analiza el proceso de antologización de la literatura canadiense en inglés a través de un estudio detallado sobre la presencia/ausencia de autoras y autores étnicos en antologías publicadas entre 1920 y 2004. También se incluyen las contribuciones de críticos/as feministas y/o étnicos puesto que cuestionan axiomas establecidos en la historia, tradición e identidad canadienses y posibilitan el acceso a las obras de estos escritores/as alternativos cuyos diversos sentidos identitarios, de otro modo silenciados, son revelados. Precisamente estos diferentes sentidos de la identidad son el eje de la tercera parte. Desde 1769 a 1904 existen: una primera novela frecuentemente infravalorada escrita Frances Brooke; novelas olvidadas de autoras con gran reconocimiento como Susanna (Strickland) Moodie; escritoras relevantes en la ficción juvenil como es el caso de Agnes Maule Machar, Margaret Murray Robertson y Margaret Marshall Saunders; contribuciones tempranas de autores étnicos como Martin Robinson Delany y Winnifred Eaton; así como novelistas de éxito de la talla Agnes Early Fleming, Lily Dougall, Susan Frances Harrison y Sara Jeannette Duncan. Dándoles voz y resaltando su relevancia, este trabajo demuestra que la literatura canadiense temprana está plagada de autoras y autores étnicos inteligentes, poderosos y reconocidos cuyas aportaciones deben ser re-consideradas si se pretende seguir manteniendo el carácter multicultural y no patriarcal de las letras canadienses. Estas novelas de un autor afroamericano y residente temporal en Canadá, de una mujer canadiense de ascendencia chino-inglesa, y un amplio espectro de mujeres inmigrantes o nativas pone de manifiesto no sólo que Canadá cuenta con un pasado literario sólido y forjado desde la diversidad sino que cuestiona el hecho de que esta herencia literaria todavía necesita ser recuperada.

Are you a snob? Then why not learn to do it right? Study this revolutionary work and become a Canadian Snob of Distinction! Victoria Branden has traced the history of Snobbery from its pre-human roots to our own era, in our own country, and has enunciated the definitive Theory of Snobbery. She examines its evolution from its crude beginnings to its present confused state, with detailed study of the most important types of snobbery, distinguishing Goodsnobs from Badsnobs, experts from fumbling amateurs. Snobbery has influenced history at least as much as the invention of the wheel or the printing press, which were probably actually inspired by snob instincts. Always staunchly patriotic, Ms. Branden has given particular attention to Canadian Snobs, who have been until this time gravely neglected in both life and literature, and has provided Canadian Snobmodels by which we can be guided to higher and better levels of Snobbery. She finds a certain lack of professionalism among Canadian Snobs: Snobbery is not acknowledged as an Olympic contender, and has received no recognition in this year's "black budget." So there is much to be done, urgently! Branden has thoughtfully provided Snobexercises (video later) by which you can develop Snobmuscle. Careful study, with diligent practice and iron self-discipline, will help you to achieve great heights of Snob-expertise, using techniques and materials particularly suited to the Canadian climate and social mores. Other how-to books claim to "make it easy" to succeed. We do not. Achieving Snob-distinction is hard, gruelling, and incessant work - but the rewards are incalculable. Any jerk can be a snob, and usually is. But to be a truly Great Snob, an upper-case Snob, a Snob who will go down in history like Beau Brummell or Oscar Wilde ah, that is attainable only by the few.

As a comparative study which includes the analysis of both English-Canadian and Quebec novels, this book provides an overview of the novel as it has developed in this country since the Second World War. Focusing on narratological rather than thematic elements, the book represents a systematic application of the insights and analytical tools of reader-reception theory, in particular the models proposed by Wolfgang Iser and Hans Robert Jauss. Placing the emphasis on the text and its effects rather than on the historical or psycho-sociological genesis of the text, the author invokes the models and paradigms of other literatures to establish a broader cultural context permitting the significance of a literature to emerge as a carrier of meaning in and beyond the culture that produces it. Tracing a critical path from Hugh MacLennan's hierarchic romance structures and Gabrielle Roy's social realism to the metafictions of Hubert Aquin and Timothy Findley, the author reveals that the novel's narratological features themselves are often closely linked with ideological positions.

The essential resource for aspiring and professional editors Whether you are a student of the craft or a working editor, you need The Complete Canadian Book Editor. From building and managing author relationships, through acquiring and developing manuscripts, to every level of text editing and proofing for print and ebooks, editors play integral roles in the operations of a book publishing house. In The Complete Canadian Book Editor, veteran editor and professor Leslie Vermeer sets out both the concepts and the processes that an effective editor must command. Dr. Vermeer guides aspiring editors in presenting themselves successfully to employers and clients, and working editors will recognize the voice of a mentor in her advice about career advancement. Editors at all levels—along with authors and self-publishers—will find in The Complete Canadian Book Editor all of the step-by-step editorial tools they need to take projects from promising beginnings to their full potential. With exercises throughout, The Complete Canadian Book Editor reinforces key concepts, and builds your skills as an expert editor. Topics include: Manuscript acquisition and book contracts. Editorial stages, from development to proofreading. Design and production, including digital workflow. What every editor needs to know about marketing. The state of book publishing in Canada today. The future of publishing, and why editors are more important than ever before.

Who were Canada’s ten most romantic couples of the twentieth century? What were this country’s worst disasters, its ten best beers, and its most controversial works of art in the past one hundred years? Where will you find the most haunted places in Canada and who are Canada’s greatest heroes, its most accomplished athletes, and its most despised criminals? The Great Canadian Book of Lists chronicles a century of achievements, trends, important and influential people, and fascinating events that have shaped this country as it heads into a new millennium. Award-winning writers Mark Kearney and Randy Ray, who have delighted readers with their bestselling books The Great Canadian Trivia Book and The Great Canadian Trivia Book 2, turn the spotlight on the twentieth century to determine the best, worst, and most significant happenings in our lives. Not content with supplying a shopping list of items about Canada, Kearney and Ray provide plenty of details to support why certain people and events are included on the lists. And their statistical snapshots comparing a variety of societal trends over different years show readers how Canada has changed in the course of the past century. You’ll also learn how experts from the worlds of science, sports, lifestyle, literature, and politics rate the personalities and events that have made Canada what it is today. And several guest celebrities weigh in with lists they’ve created exclusively for The Great Canadian Book of Lists. Enlightening, controversial and fun, The Great Canadian Book of Lists is bound to start as many arguments as it settles. Was Guy Lafleur a better hockey player than Rocket Richard? Why are rower Silken Laumann and actress Margot Kidder on the same list? What were the best Canadian novels of the twentieth century? And what are some key milestones achieved by Canadian women, medical doctors, inventors, and musicians? Innovations and flops, successes and failures, comebacks and breakthroughs, record setters and trend setters: You’ll find them all in The Great Canadian Book of Lists.

Except as eighteenth-century satiric invective, scatology has almost never been the subject of a full-length study - this despite the insistent references to bodily functions in postwar Canadian literature. This eccentric and interdisciplinary study provides a full listing of examples of scatology in a wide range of Canadian novels from the nineteenth century to the present, and in so doing develops another kind of thematic approach to Canadian prose. Since pollution rites are a culture-specific language, scatology sets up categories of class, race, and gender, although Kramer argues that material signifiers refer to the world and are never purely rhetorical. Scatology as used by Canadian novelists thus raises epistemological problems, alternately undermining and naturalizing political ideologies and religious beliefs.

Underground to Canada is the historical story of freedom and survival told through the eyes of two young girls. The story surrounds Julilly and Liza, who with their friends, Lester and Adam, escape from a life of slavery on a cotton plantation in the Deep South. The story follows the two young girls as they travel through the United States along the “underground railway” to reach their final destination, Canada. During their journey, the two girls get separated from their friends and must make the long treacherous journey alone. They are encountered with many obstacles, but are helped throughout their journey by those who make up the “underground railway.” This Novel Study provides a teacher and student section with a variety of activities, discussion questions and answer key to create a well-rounded lesson plan.

An international trade emerged between 1870-1895 that incorporated the circulation of books among countries worldwide. A history of the social network and select agents who sold and distributed books overseas, this study demonstrates agents increasingly thought of the world as a negotiable, connected system and books as transnational commodities.

Focusing on the intersection of literature and politics since the beginning of the 20th century, this book examines authors, historical figures, major literary and political works, national literatures, and literary movements to reveal the intrinsic links between literature and history. • Covers numerous authors from around the world ranging from the beginning of the 20th century to the modern era • Enables students to better understand literary works central to the curriculum by considering them in their political contexts • Helps readers to use literature in order to learn about modern political and social issues across cultures and better appreciate the political significance of contemporary writings • Contains a number of "gateway" entries that survey entire national literatures, thereby giving readers an introduction to the authors who are important within those literatures • Assists students in evaluating rhetorical strategies and political views, thus fostering critical thinking in support of the Common Core State Standards

A series of essays on Canadian authors profiling the writers work, providing insight into themes, and giving a chronology of the authors life.

Nellie L. McClung (1873-1951) was an internationally celebrated feminist and social activist whose success as a platform speaker was legendary. Her earliest notoriety was achieved as a writer, and during her lengthy career she authored four novels, two novellas, three collections of short stories, a two-volume autobiography and various collections of speeches, articles and wartime writing, to a total of sixteen volumes. All this served as a “pulpit” from which McClung could preach her gospel of feminist activism and social transformation. She was convinced that God’s intention for Creation was a “Fair Deal” for everyone; and that Canada, particularly the prairie West, was a perfect place to begin to bring that about. Woman suffrage, temperance and the ordination of women were keystones in the battle — engaged, in contrast to contemporary stereotypes, with a wit and compelling humour that won over enemies as it delighted her allies. Literature as Pulpit explores Nellie McClung’s vision of a “better world,” and the impediments to it, as expressed through her novels and her feminist “tract,” In Times Like These. It addresses the profoundly anti-feminist context within which McClung was forced to make her arguments, and notes her indebtedness to other feminist writers and thinkers of her day. Throughout, McClung’s religion of “active care” emerges as a consistent and harmonizing theme which integrates her feminism and social activism into a single empowering vision for social change.