The Evolution of Canadian Literature in English ed. by Mary Jane Edwards, Paul Denham, George L. Parker

Abstract

121 Reviews are necessarily brief, and in the last three novels particularly, where no broader themes or techniques have been considered elsewhere, disconcertingly narrow and simple. The author herself recognizes this, and enters a belated caveat on page 221, but there remains an uncomfortable contrast between the subtle and careful analysis of complexities throughout most of the work and the reduc­ tionist simplicity imposed here by the choice of thematic approach. Fortunately, the book does not close on this note: the last three pages of general conclusion return to the theme of truth, to Thackeray's sense of the "contradictions of existence," to his use of "irony as a means of knowing," his habit of presenting shifting points of view from alternating poses, his subtle probing of ordinary lives, and his deeply perceptive vision of humanity. McMaster has been concerned, she tells us, to prove that Thackeray was not superficial, and that he was a highly skilled craftsman in the art of the novel. She has succeeded admirably in both aims, in a work with few flaws and a host of beauties, and one moreover which is a delight to read. f .e .l . Priestley / University College, University of Toronto Mary Jane Edwards, Paul Denham, and George L. Parker, editors, The Evolu­ tion of Canadian Literature in English, 4 volumes (Toronto: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1973). 307; 335; 333; 288. $6.25 each volume The appearance of this large four-volume anthology of Canadian literature in English from its beginnings to 1970 is a tangible expression of the rapid growth of recognition of this literature as a proper subject of study in our universities and schools. Anyone who has recently edited an anthology of Canadian writing knows how expensive permission fees have now become, and the publishers' investment in these volumes must be staggering. Presumably they feel that there is a large market for such an enterprise, and it will be interesting to see whether their faith is justified. There is no doubt that for the most part both editors and publishers have done their work well. Although I shall at a later point question some of the editors' decisions and procedures, I must on the whole congratulate them upon their courage, their consistency, and their balance. Each volume has an interesting and fairly provocative introduction, and the individual authors are introduced by biographical and critical notes which appear to be accurate in fact and sensible in opinion. As for the publishers, they have bound the volumes in sturdy plasticized covers, each of which bears the reproduction of an appropriate Canadian painting, and have used good quality paper stock and type-faces which are attractive to look at and easy to read. The books are clearly intended to be textbooks, but they are attractive and convenient textbooks. There is perhaps not very much point in bickering about the anthologists' selections: clearly no two persons would make precisely the same selections 122 En g lish Studies in Canada from a given body of work, and the right to be occasionally whimsical in inclusion and exclusion is one of the few privileges an anthologist enjoys. However, to take issue with editors in a review is an accepted part of the literary game, and I shall not decline to play. In the first volume, dealing with preConfederation literature, I am amazed to find Joseph Howe excluded and a little disappointed not to find anything by Mrs. Brooke or Mrs. Traill. On the other hand, I would have happily sacrificed Cary, Burwell, and Adams, the last of whom is certainly not worth the fifty pages allotted to him. In the volume devoted to the period from Confederation to World War i, I am sorry not to find a short story by E.W. Thomson and a few poems by G.F. Cameron, Robert Service, and Tom Maclnnes, and would have made room for them by either reducing or eliminating Pauline Johnson, Nellie McClung, and L.M. Montgomery. The most serious omissions, however, occur in the two volumes representing the period since World War i. Surely P.K. Page, Miriam Waddington, Louis Dudek, Elizabeth Brewster, and Norman Levine deserve places —certainly I re­ gard every...