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Fiction Literary

Dry Water

A Novel by Robert J.C. Stead

by (author) Robert J.C. Stead

edited by Neil Querengesser & Jean Horton

Publisher
University of Ottawa Press
Initial publish date
Apr 2008
Category
Literary, Biographical
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9780776618265
    Publish Date
    Apr 2008
    List Price
    $11.99
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780776606750
    Publish Date
    Apr 2008
    List Price
    $24.95

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Description

Dry Water tells the story of Donald Strand, from the time of his arrival as a ten-year-old orphan at his relatives’ Manitoba farm in 1890 to his apogee as a successful farmer. It recounts the crises he faces during a troubled marriage and the great stock market crash of 1929. His life parallels the growth and development of Manitoba during the same period.

Stead considered Dry Water, written in 1934–1935, to be his crowning achievement. He was unable to find a publisher for it during his lifetime, although an abridged edition was published by Tecumseh Press in 1983. This new edition includes the complete typescript, a critical introduction, and explanatory notes that place this novel in its proper literary and historical context.

About the authors

ROBERT J.C. STEAD (1880-1959) was a Manitoba journalist and sometime poet. He began his career as novelist during World War I, but it was with Neighbours (1922), The Smoking Flax (1924), and especially Grain (1926) that he established his claim to be the pioneer realist of Canadian rural life.

Robert J.C. Stead's profile page

Neil Querengesser is professor of English at Concordia University College of Alberta.

Neil Querengesser's profile page

Jean Horton is professor emerita of English at Concordia University College of Alberta.

Jean Horton's profile page