MacDonald, Mary Lu

Literature and Society in the Canadas 1817-1850

1992 0-7734-9524-X
This is the only work which examines the early literature of Upper and Lower Canada, written in both languages, in an historical context. Includes all the newspapers, periodicals, and separately published volumes produced in the two colonies between the end of the War of 1812 and the middle of the 19 century, as well as relevant archival material. Data is organized by analyzing questions of nationality, identity, historical events, social relationships and chronological change. Presently the only work which examines the economics of publication as well as methods of literary distribution, regional aspects of publishing and reading, and the only examination of the sources of literary content in the newspapers of the time. When the literary productions are analyzed it is evident that the attitudes of the native-born English resemble those of the native-born French more closely than they do those of the English immigrants. Many of the analytical results are either unique or contradict established theories. Shows the range and extent of literary life in a complex period in Canada's cultural development.