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Biography & Autobiography General

Robert Service

Under the Spell of the Yukon, Second Edition

by (author) Enid Mallory

Publisher
Heritage House Publishing
Initial publish date
Apr 2011
Category
General
Recommended Age
15
Recommended Grade
10
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781927051078
    Publish Date
    Apr 2011
    List Price
    $9.95

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Description

In 1907, 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 became a household name across North America and throughout the British Commonwealth. Words were Service's lifelong passion, and he set them on many stages. But it was his Dan McGrew, Sam McGee and other players of the Great White North who glittered with a golden glow and forever made him the "Bard of the Yukon" and the de facto Poet Laureate of Alaska.

Enid Mallory's Robert Service: Under the Spell of the Yukon sheds new light on the life and career of this intriguing and intensely private man, and celebrates the poet's verse. This edition includes a selection of some of the most loved Service poems, including "The Cremation of Sam McGee," "The Shooting of Dan McGrew," "The Call of the Wild," "The Spell of the Yukon" and "The Ballad of Blasphemous Bill."

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

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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