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History General

Robert Service

Under the Spell of the Yukon

by (author) Enid Mallory

Publisher
Heritage House Publishing
Initial publish date
Oct 2006
Category
General
Recommended Age
15
Recommended Grade
10
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9781894384957
    Publish Date
    Oct 2006
    List Price
    $32.95
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781927051078
    Publish Date
    Apr 2011
    List Price
    $9.95

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Where to buy it

Description

One hundred years ago, a shy bank clerk sent a collection of his poems south from the Yukon to be privately published and shared with a small group of friends. Fate intervened, however, and Robert Service, Sam McGee and Dan McGrew became household names across North America and throughout the British Commonwealth.

 

Service spent the decade prior to the First World War sating his wanderlust by travelling across North America. His adventures included a trip that ranks as one of the great northern river journeys of his era. He went to Europe and served in the war in many capacities. He lived much of his life in France with his wife and daughter; they spent the Second World War in North America, summering in Vancouver, BC, and wintering in the Los Angeles area. An intensely private man, Service remained an enigmatic character until his passing in 1958.

 

Enid Mallory's Robert Service: Under the Spell of the Yukon celebrates the centennial of the poet's first book of verse by shedding new light on the life and career of this intriguing man. Service will always be Canada's "Bard of the Yukon" and Alaska's de facto Poet Laureate, just as he is part of the lives of an estimated 3 million readers who know that "there are strange things done in the Midnight Sun . . . "

About the author

Enid Swerdferger Mallory was born near Ottawa, Ontario, and attended Queen’s University before becoming a social worker. After she and her husband moved to Kawartha Lakes country to start a family, her interest in regional history led to a new career of writing and storytelling. Mallory has written for Reader’s Digest, Canadian Geographic and The Beaver, and her previous books include The Remarkable Years: Canadians Remember the 20th Century, Close to the Earth: Have Your Garden and Eat it Too, Over the Counter: The Country Stores in Canada and Coppermine: The Far North of George M. Douglas. She resides in Peterborough, Ontario, with her husband, Gord.

Enid Mallory's profile page

Editorial Reviews

Mallory's use of previously unpublished family papers brings our most celebrated poet into much clearer focus. —Trevor S. Raymond, Canadian Book Review annual

Librarian Reviews

Robert Service: Under the Spell of the Yukon

This thorough account of Service’s life emphasizes the significance of the time he spent living in the Yukon for his writing, growth as a person and fame. The book documents his early life in Scotland; travels across the Atlantic, Canada and through California; his work in the Yukon as a banker; his years of service in both World Wars; his fame as a published author and poet; and his final days spent at his house in France. Excerpts from several of Service’s narrative poems are included. Anecdotes about the characters he encountered, often the inspiration for his poems, bring this text to life.

Mallory’s other historical accounts include The Remarkable Years: Canadians Remember the 20th Century and Coppermine: The Far North of George M. Douglas.

Source: The Association of Book Publishers of BC. BC Books for BC Schools. 2007-2008.

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