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At Face ValueThe Life and Times of Eliza McCormack/John White |
eBook Available
While tracing the history of John White, a trustworthy, nineteenth-century Tory backbencher with an unusual understand-ing of the political situation of women and indigenous minorities, Don Akenson found gaps and inconsistencies in the records. The conventional biography of White simply does not mesh with the facts. Akenson, however, has written a biography that does.
In a parish register in Ireland, Akenson discovered a record naming an Eliza McCormack White as John's sister. Employing imaginative reconstruction, he proposes that Eliza McCormack, a transvestite prostitute who was in central Canada at the time John White arrived on the Canadian scene, was actually John's sister. Further, he suggests that John White can be best understood by recognizing that he was in fact Eliza!
In a parish register in Ireland, Akenson discovered a record naming an Eliza McCormack White as John's sister. Employing imaginative reconstruction, he proposes that Eliza McCormack, a transvestite prostitute who was in central Canada at the time John White arrived on the Canadian scene, was actually John's sister. Further, he suggests that John White can be best understood by recognizing that he was in fact Eliza!
Details
262 Pages
ISBN 9780773509481
June 1992
Formats: Paperback, Paperback, eBook
"A wonderful postmodern, post-feminist, historically grounded fictional elaboration of cultural depth, political importance and literary delight; ... [It is] a treasure - not buried, just discovered by too few Canadian readers." Globe and Mail
"A wonderful concoction of historical sleuthing and sheer invention ... an absorbing and entertaining read ... I admired the panache with which Akenson broke the gender-loaded rules of historical biography." Joanne Page, Kingston Whig-Standard
"Outrageous and intriguing ... Akenson's writing is clear and fluid, his narrative well paced, and his feel for character unerring. Setting his yarn against a rich historical background ... Akenson holds the reader's attention while slipping in a wealth of historical detail ... At Face Value demonstrates the impressive reach of Akenson's imagination." Curtis Fahey, Quill & Quire
"A fascinating and plausible tale ... Akenson paints a vivid portrait of the person known as John White ... At Face Value raises plenty of possibilities that could make us reconsider our history." Dave Obee, Calgary Herald
"A wonderful concoction of historical sleuthing and sheer invention ... an absorbing and entertaining read ... I admired the panache with which Akenson broke the gender-loaded rules of historical biography." Joanne Page, Kingston Whig-Standard
"Outrageous and intriguing ... Akenson's writing is clear and fluid, his narrative well paced, and his feel for character unerring. Setting his yarn against a rich historical background ... Akenson holds the reader's attention while slipping in a wealth of historical detail ... At Face Value demonstrates the impressive reach of Akenson's imagination." Curtis Fahey, Quill & Quire
"A fascinating and plausible tale ... Akenson paints a vivid portrait of the person known as John White ... At Face Value raises plenty of possibilities that could make us reconsider our history." Dave Obee, Calgary Herald
Donald Harman Akenson is Douglas Professor of Canadian and Colonial History at Queen's. He was Beamish Research Professor of Irish Studies at the University of Liverpool from 1997-2004 and was named the 1995 Canada Council Molson Laureate in the social sciences and humanities. His book, God's People, won the world's richest non-fiction prize, the Grawemeyer Award, in the category of improving humanity. He is also a past recipient of the Trillium Award and a Guggenheim Fellowship.
Finalist
Trillium Book Award
Ontario Government (1991)
Trillium Book Award
Ontario Government (1991)
