The first
in the series, The Mystery in the
Moonlight Murder, will always remain closest to my heart as it features,
John Diefenbaker, the only Saskatchewan born future Prime Minister. It is set
in 1908 near Borden, Saskatchewan where Diefenbaker’s father had homesteaded
and was teaching school. Young Diefenbaker grows up working hard on the farm
while acquiring an education in a one room school for his elementary education.
It is a struggle as the family works to establish a farm and Diefenbaker’s
father is so busy between teaching and farming.
The
second book, The Legends of the Lake,
is set in rural Ontario near Kingston almost a century earlier in 1928 and
involves, John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first Prime Minister. Macdonald’s father
is operating a flour mill which uses the water from a waterfall. Macdonald also
works in the mill when he is not away at school in Kingston. The Macdonald
family is doing well but is certainly not wealthy.
The third
is Showdown at Bordertown set in the
area of Windsor, Ontario across the river from Detroit. It is set in 1950 with
young Paul Martin. His father, Paul Martin Sr., is a federal government Member
of Parliament for the Liberal Party. At the time of the book Martin Sr. is the
Minister of Health for Canada. The Martins live comfortably in a middle class
neighbourhood.
Martin
Jr. (never known as Jr.) is the only living Prime Minister to be the subject
matter of a book and participated in the project including writing the foreword
and joining the author, Caroline Woodward, for a book signing event that
garnered great publicity.
Most
unique about this book is that it was written by a teenager who won a contest
to write the book.
The
fourth book, The Hero of Hopewell Hill,
returns to the 19th Century. It is set on the coast of New Brunswick
in 1888. Richard Bennett, our 11th Prime Minister, is living on the
family farm. His grandfather had owned a prosperous shipbuilding business but
the advent of steel hulled ships brought an end to the family business. Bennett’s
father main focus is his blacksmith business. Bennett is expected to work hard
on the farm even though he is only 13. Bennett’s mother understands his desire
to become a teacher as she had trained as a teacher.
The fifth
book, mentioned above, is The Wail of the
Wendigo, and features Pierre Elliot Trudeau when he was 11 years old.
Trudeau grew up in Montreal. While his father came from a modest background he
has prospered and owns a chain of gas stations in Quebec. Despite the
Depression of the 1930’s the Trudeau family is doing very well financially.
The five
future Prime Ministers come from four different provinces.
Of the
quintet four come from rural backgrounds which is not a surprise. Until after
World War II most Canadians did not reside in major urban centres.
There is
no consistency in the occupations of their fathers.
None of
the mothers worked outside the home in jobs. Once again these books are set at
times when relatively few women had occupations away from home. Certainly three
of the mothers worked on the farm or in the family business.
I
acknowledge there is not as much inspiration for girls in reading the series. All
the Prime Ministers of the series have been men. It will remain that way in
future books as Canada has had but one female Prime Minister, Kim Campbell, and
she was in power for only a short time before an election decimated the Conservative
Party.
What is
common to the character of these boys who became Prime Ministers is that they
came from families who valued education, hard work and discipline. Those traits
remain a sound foundation for young Canadian boys and girls.
I look
forward to future books in the series to provide more interesting adventures
about the men and woman who have been our Prime Ministers for 149 years.
Oh, it is good to hear there's a new entry into the Legacies and Leaders series, Bill. I think that's a fine series, and a great way for young people to learn about Canada's prime ministers. I'll be really interested in your review of the new one. It's interesting, too, that you mention that there's less inspiration for girls in the books. I agree with you. At the same time, of those I'm familiar with, the female characters are not stereotyped. And I think that adds to the stories.
ReplyDeleteMargot: Thank you for the comment. Thank you for noting female characters are not stereotyped in the series. I agree and appreciate you filling in that gap.
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