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Literary Criticism Canadian

Canadian Stories of the Sea

edited by Victor Suthren

Publisher
Oxford University Press
Initial publish date
Sep 1993
Category
Canadian
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780195408492
    Publish Date
    Sep 1993
    List Price
    $17.95

Classroom Resources

Where to buy it

Out of print

This edition is not currently available in bookstores. Check your local library or search for used copies at Abebooks.

Description

With its thousands of miles of coastline fronting on three oceans and the world's largest freshwater lake system, Canada has had a long and exciting history of human endeavour on those waters. In Canadian Sea Stories, Canadian sea novelist Victor Suthren has gathered together a collection ofbedside readings from that rich and intriguing history. The collection is by no means a thorough survey of all of Canada's maritime history, but rather a selection of tales, brief or not so brief, that capture the spirit of the Canadian past afloat. On the west or eastern coasts, set in the frozen waters of the Arctic, or on the treacherous expanses of the Great Lakes, and ranging in time from the coming of the First Nations to the present day, the stories take the reader into glimpses of adventurous discovery; heart-rending labour; terror andtriumph in the face of war or the sea's fury; and the everyday nature of life for those who have made their living from the sea and the Lakes. There are glimpses of the gracious tranquility of Edwardian yachting, and of the bloodsoaked horror of sailing - ship broadside battles of the tenaciouscareers of ships who kept the coastlines linked through storm or disaster. There are stories of shipwreck and loss, and of discovery and exultation. And throughout there is the common thread of a bridging narrative that links these stories and vignettes into an understandable picture.

About the author

Victor Suthren is a Canadian writer and historian with a special interest in maritime history. A former Director General of the Canadian War Museum, he has written seven adventure novels about the sea, as well as, histories including The War of 1812, and biographies of James Cook and de Bougainville. He lives with his family in Merrickville, Ontario.

Victor Suthren's profile page