A Very Double Life: The Private World of Mackenzie King

by Charles Perry Stacey

Stacey's book was the first to examine in detail the convoluted, often bizarre private life of one of Canada's most influential Prime Ministers.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

227 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A Very Double Life" was first published in the 1970s after Prime Minister Mackenzie King's diaries had been made available to historians. C.P. Stacey, the author, focuses on King's private life in this book and does an excellent job synthesizing those aspects of the lengthy diaries for the reader. Having studied Canadian history, I already knew the general contents of this book, but reading all the details was a different thing altogether. In fact, the details changed my perception of this Prime Minister. I realized King was into spiritualism and believed he could receive messages from his dead relatives and the late PM Wilfrid Laurier. However, the frequency with which King believed he communicated with his family and the length of the messages was astonishing. The fact that important historical figures like Abraham Lincoln also dropped by to chat with King was also stunning. The author argues persuasively that King's communications with the great beyond were really the PM's way of gaining confidence to follow through on decisions he had actually already made; Canada was not governed by ghosts in King's time in office. Nevertheless, I still found this PM's practice of spiritualism somewhat disturbing. Overall, what emerges from this book is a picture of a not very likeable individual with an enormous ego, many other peculiar personality traits, and some strange beliefs, even for the times in which he lived. In the political world, there is little doubt that Mackenzie King had superb judgement and instincts, but in his personal life it was a much different story.

[Huguette Larochelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

i like historic . we learn a lot from the past.

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I could have seen in person how people reacted to this when it released.