Rapt in plaid : Canadian literature and Scottish tradition / Elizabeth Waterston.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Illustrate a long-lasting connection between Scottish and Canadian literary traditions and illuminates the way Scottish ideas and values still wield surprising power in Canadian politics, education, theology, economics and social mores.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

In her 60 years in academia, Waterston (emer., Univ. of Guelph) often worked in fields considered marginal--children's literature, travel literature, romance, Scottish, even Canadian literature. A felicitous mixture of literary history, modern criticism, and personal memoir, this elegant book demonstrates that Scottish ideas, values, and culture have influenced Canadian literature since the 19th century. Divided into four thematic parts, this readable work is composed of ten chapters, each dealing with a specific topic: the fine lyric and narrative verse of Burns in Canada, culminating in the popular modern poetry of Milton Acorn; the historical romances of Walter Scott, which influenced Isabel Valancy Crawford in the 19th century and Timothy Findley's The War (1977); pioneer-cum-writer John Galt's influence on Sinclair Ross's Sawbones Memorial and other things Canadian; Carlyle's heroic rhetoric in W.O. Mitchell's The Vanishing Point and Margaret Laurence's The Fire Dwellers. In addition, Waterston sees the children's verses of Stevenson echoed in Dennis Lee's Alligator Pie (1974), the sentimental drama of J.M. Barrie in L.M. Montgomery's Green Gable novels, and the adventures of John Buch in all Hugh MacLennan's novels. Jane Duncan is studied in the light of Alice Munro's memory short stories. Extensive notes and useful bibliography; all collections. J. Walker Queen's University at Kingston