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A Prairie Courtship
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108 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1910
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17 people want to read
About the author
Harold Bindloss
395 books3 followersHarold Edward Bindloss (1866 - December 30, 1945) was an English novelist who wrote many adventure novels set in western Canada.
Bindloss was born in Liverpool in 1866. According to his New York Times obituary:
Mr Bindloss was more than 30 years old before he began writing. Previously he had roamed the world, farming in Canada and working in southern climes as a cargo heaver, a planter, and at other jobs.
Broken by malaria he returned to England forty-five years ago and took up office work. But he lost his job when his health broke down and turned to writing in which he found his true vocation. He published some forty novels between the years 1902 and 1943. Many of his books had their locale in Canada. (New York Times, January 2, 1946)
He returned to London. In 1898, he published his first book, a non-fiction account based on his travels in Africa, called In the Niger Country. This was followed by dozens of novels.
Bindloss was born in Liverpool in 1866. According to his New York Times obituary:
Mr Bindloss was more than 30 years old before he began writing. Previously he had roamed the world, farming in Canada and working in southern climes as a cargo heaver, a planter, and at other jobs.
Broken by malaria he returned to England forty-five years ago and took up office work. But he lost his job when his health broke down and turned to writing in which he found his true vocation. He published some forty novels between the years 1902 and 1943. Many of his books had their locale in Canada. (New York Times, January 2, 1946)
He returned to London. In 1898, he published his first book, a non-fiction account based on his travels in Africa, called In the Niger Country. This was followed by dozens of novels.
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March 6, 2021
I have had two comments in recent weeks on my reviews, one saying I talked too much about myself and not enough about the book, the other that I didn't understand the book at all. That person called me crass, I had to look it up to see what it meant and I already forget. Don't bother searching for the comments, as part of my be more cheerful resolution, I've deleted them both. However, if you happen to agree with either of those things stop reading now. And if you would like to read the book and would rather not have the ending of the book ruined for you also stop reading now. Ok, I warned you.
A Prairie Courtship was written by Harold Edward Bindloss who liked using both his first and middle name so I did what he wanted. It was written in 1910 and published in England as Alison's Adventure over here we changed it to A Prairie Courtship I don't know why. I wonder if he knew why. Anyway, I never heard of the guy. He was born in England and as far as I know lived there most of the time. He spent years at sea and in various colonies, he began when a young man working for his father as a clerk, but became bored and went off to sea, and to Canada as a farmer, a dock worker and a planter. I have no idea if a planter is different from a farmer, it seems the same to me. He came back to England in poor health after having malaria in West Africa. Finally settled at home he began writing, first two non-fiction books on his travels, then novels, almost one hundred of them. Most of his stories were set in Africa or Canada. From him I learned that Canada has prairies and enough hot weather to plant crops in the Spring and harvest them in the Fall. I was kind of hoping it was too cold for that, I am always tempted to move there for the cold weather. Lately, the last year anyway, I'm tempted to move there to get away from here. Not only do we have a virus going crazy, but until recently we had a certain person in charge of our country that, well I'll just say I had to quit watching television and as I said, I was tempted to head to Canada and the cold weather. All this wasn't helping my be more cheerful resolution so I decided I had to start reading books that would make me feel happier, and the first thing that popped into my head were the Little House On The Prairie books I read as a kid and still do every now and then. So that got me to do a search for books about the prairie and here I am with A Prairie Courtship and Harold Edward Bindloss. I bet you wish you had taken my advice and stopped reading long ago. On to the book.
Some things that happen in this book were just plain odd, there is Alison. Alison Leigh is a young woman who grew up in England. Until three years ago she had led a sheltered life, then her father died leaving his affairs in awful shape and she found that her mother had spent all his income in an attempt to win a prominent position in smart society. She had succeeded in marrying her other daughter to a wealthy man, but Alison is still with her mother and unwed. The wealthy sister wasn't eager to offer financial assistance so Mrs. Leigh was found a small appointment as secretary of a woman's club and Alison was left to shift for herself. Nice family. She spent a few months in a business school only to find her sister's manner had become chillier, and influential friends had forgotten her, and at last she decided to go to Canada. No one objected to this and her brother-in-law actually went far enough to give her a very small check and secure her a position as a typist in the service of a business firm in Winnipeg. I find it very hard to believe that in 1910 this girl's family sends her to Canada all by herself with a small check. Couldn't they find her a position as a typist in a business firm somewhere in England? I guess not, besides, there's no prairie in England, not that I know of anyway, of course I didn't know there were any prairies in Canada until now. So she goes to Canada only to find that this unknown business firm is seriously unknown since it has just gone out of business. The only thing that Alison can think of to do now isn't to contact her family, but to go on to a friend she used to have in England who had married a Canadian farmer a few years before. She is unsure of her welcome because of the way the girl had been treated by her mother:
It was a rather inadequate description of the persecution of an inoffensive girl who had for a time been treated on a more or less friendly footing and made use of by a certain circle of suburban society interested in parochial philanthropy in which Mrs. Leigh had aspired to rule supreme. Florence Ashton had been tolerated, in spite of the fact that she earned her living, until an eloquent curate whose means were supposed to be ample happened to cast approving eyes on her, when pressure was judicially brought to bear. The girl had made a plucky fight, but the odds against her were overwhelmingly heavy, and the curate, it seemed, had not quite made up his mind. In any case, she was vanquished, and tactfully forced out of a guild which paid her a very small stipend for certain services; and eventually she married a Canadian who had come over on a brief visit to the old country. How Florence had managed it, Alison, who fancied that the phrase was in this case justifiable, did not exactly know, but she had reasons for believing that the girl had really liked the curate and would not readily forgive her mother.
So she continues west, 300 miles west and ends up in the town of Graham's Bluff. There she meets Leslie Thorne, who is never called Leslie but usually Maverick or just Thorne, I can't remember why. He takes her to the home of her old friend Florence and her husband Elcot Hunter. On the way they stop for the night at the farm of Mr. and Mrs. Farquhar and Mrs. Farquhar takes such a liking to Alison she invites her to stay with them:
"Thorne tells me you are going to Mrs. Hunter's, though you don't know yet whether you will stay with her or not," she said.
It occurred to Alison that this was a tactful way of expressing it, though she was not sure that the delicacy was altogether Thorne's, for she had no doubt that her hostess had once been accustomed to a much smoother life in the Canadian cities.
"No," she replied, "I really can't tell until I get there."
"Then, in case you don't decide to stay, we should be glad to have you here."
Alison was astonished, but in spite of her usual outward calm there was a vein of impulsiveness in her, and she leaned forward in her chair.
"I don't suppose you know that I am quite useless at any kind of housework," she said. "I can't wash things, I can't cook, and I can scarcely sew."
Mrs. Farquhar smiled.
"When I first came out here from Toronto it was much the same with me, and there was nobody to teach me. It's fortunate that men are not very fastidious in this part of Canada. In any case I had, perhaps, better mention that while I would be glad to pay you at the usual rate and you would be required to help, you would live with us as one of the family. I want a companion. With my husband at work from sunup until dark, it's often lonely here. Besides, the arrangement would give you an opportunity for learning a little and finding out how you like the country."
Alison thought hard for a few moments. What she was offered was a situation as a servant, but she decided that it would be more pleasant here than she supposed it must generally be in England. She felt inclined to like this woman, and her husband's manner was reassuring. There was no doubt that they would treat her well.
And now we end up at Florence and Elcot's farm. Elcot likes to work on his farm, Florence likes to spend his money. She likes to spend money so much she ends up borrowing money from Nevis the bad guy of the book and doesn't tell her husband. In fact everyone borrows money from Nevis, Thorne owes him money, Florence owes him money, another rancher, Jake Winthrop owes him so much money he ends up losing his farm. So Florence owes him money, but the wheat is growing beautifully and she'll be able to pay him back once the wheat is harvested, and Thorne owes him money but the wheat is growing beautifully and....then comes the hail.
This book made me think of all the things farmer go through. I watch them plant corn from our living room window every spring, but so many things could end up going wrong and they just might have a Nevis waiting for them. Or all that work I watch them doing, only for hail to come along. I'm glad I can watch the farmers without being one. I decided I won't say much more about the book, even I get tired of talking eventually. I was annoyed that at the beginning they were making a mystery of where Thorne really came from, you could tell he once had an education, was a doctor, something like that, but what it was I don't know they never told us. Maybe there's a book two, then we can see what happens to those hit hardest by the hail, who ends up losing their farms, who ends up married, what Thorne used to do, and if Alison ever bothers to contact her family again. I liked the book enough to download another one I started reading last night. So if you want to learn about wheat, prairies, Canada, and farming, read the book. Whatever you decide, happy reading.
A Prairie Courtship was written by Harold Edward Bindloss who liked using both his first and middle name so I did what he wanted. It was written in 1910 and published in England as Alison's Adventure over here we changed it to A Prairie Courtship I don't know why. I wonder if he knew why. Anyway, I never heard of the guy. He was born in England and as far as I know lived there most of the time. He spent years at sea and in various colonies, he began when a young man working for his father as a clerk, but became bored and went off to sea, and to Canada as a farmer, a dock worker and a planter. I have no idea if a planter is different from a farmer, it seems the same to me. He came back to England in poor health after having malaria in West Africa. Finally settled at home he began writing, first two non-fiction books on his travels, then novels, almost one hundred of them. Most of his stories were set in Africa or Canada. From him I learned that Canada has prairies and enough hot weather to plant crops in the Spring and harvest them in the Fall. I was kind of hoping it was too cold for that, I am always tempted to move there for the cold weather. Lately, the last year anyway, I'm tempted to move there to get away from here. Not only do we have a virus going crazy, but until recently we had a certain person in charge of our country that, well I'll just say I had to quit watching television and as I said, I was tempted to head to Canada and the cold weather. All this wasn't helping my be more cheerful resolution so I decided I had to start reading books that would make me feel happier, and the first thing that popped into my head were the Little House On The Prairie books I read as a kid and still do every now and then. So that got me to do a search for books about the prairie and here I am with A Prairie Courtship and Harold Edward Bindloss. I bet you wish you had taken my advice and stopped reading long ago. On to the book.
Some things that happen in this book were just plain odd, there is Alison. Alison Leigh is a young woman who grew up in England. Until three years ago she had led a sheltered life, then her father died leaving his affairs in awful shape and she found that her mother had spent all his income in an attempt to win a prominent position in smart society. She had succeeded in marrying her other daughter to a wealthy man, but Alison is still with her mother and unwed. The wealthy sister wasn't eager to offer financial assistance so Mrs. Leigh was found a small appointment as secretary of a woman's club and Alison was left to shift for herself. Nice family. She spent a few months in a business school only to find her sister's manner had become chillier, and influential friends had forgotten her, and at last she decided to go to Canada. No one objected to this and her brother-in-law actually went far enough to give her a very small check and secure her a position as a typist in the service of a business firm in Winnipeg. I find it very hard to believe that in 1910 this girl's family sends her to Canada all by herself with a small check. Couldn't they find her a position as a typist in a business firm somewhere in England? I guess not, besides, there's no prairie in England, not that I know of anyway, of course I didn't know there were any prairies in Canada until now. So she goes to Canada only to find that this unknown business firm is seriously unknown since it has just gone out of business. The only thing that Alison can think of to do now isn't to contact her family, but to go on to a friend she used to have in England who had married a Canadian farmer a few years before. She is unsure of her welcome because of the way the girl had been treated by her mother:
It was a rather inadequate description of the persecution of an inoffensive girl who had for a time been treated on a more or less friendly footing and made use of by a certain circle of suburban society interested in parochial philanthropy in which Mrs. Leigh had aspired to rule supreme. Florence Ashton had been tolerated, in spite of the fact that she earned her living, until an eloquent curate whose means were supposed to be ample happened to cast approving eyes on her, when pressure was judicially brought to bear. The girl had made a plucky fight, but the odds against her were overwhelmingly heavy, and the curate, it seemed, had not quite made up his mind. In any case, she was vanquished, and tactfully forced out of a guild which paid her a very small stipend for certain services; and eventually she married a Canadian who had come over on a brief visit to the old country. How Florence had managed it, Alison, who fancied that the phrase was in this case justifiable, did not exactly know, but she had reasons for believing that the girl had really liked the curate and would not readily forgive her mother.
So she continues west, 300 miles west and ends up in the town of Graham's Bluff. There she meets Leslie Thorne, who is never called Leslie but usually Maverick or just Thorne, I can't remember why. He takes her to the home of her old friend Florence and her husband Elcot Hunter. On the way they stop for the night at the farm of Mr. and Mrs. Farquhar and Mrs. Farquhar takes such a liking to Alison she invites her to stay with them:
"Thorne tells me you are going to Mrs. Hunter's, though you don't know yet whether you will stay with her or not," she said.
It occurred to Alison that this was a tactful way of expressing it, though she was not sure that the delicacy was altogether Thorne's, for she had no doubt that her hostess had once been accustomed to a much smoother life in the Canadian cities.
"No," she replied, "I really can't tell until I get there."
"Then, in case you don't decide to stay, we should be glad to have you here."
Alison was astonished, but in spite of her usual outward calm there was a vein of impulsiveness in her, and she leaned forward in her chair.
"I don't suppose you know that I am quite useless at any kind of housework," she said. "I can't wash things, I can't cook, and I can scarcely sew."
Mrs. Farquhar smiled.
"When I first came out here from Toronto it was much the same with me, and there was nobody to teach me. It's fortunate that men are not very fastidious in this part of Canada. In any case I had, perhaps, better mention that while I would be glad to pay you at the usual rate and you would be required to help, you would live with us as one of the family. I want a companion. With my husband at work from sunup until dark, it's often lonely here. Besides, the arrangement would give you an opportunity for learning a little and finding out how you like the country."
Alison thought hard for a few moments. What she was offered was a situation as a servant, but she decided that it would be more pleasant here than she supposed it must generally be in England. She felt inclined to like this woman, and her husband's manner was reassuring. There was no doubt that they would treat her well.
And now we end up at Florence and Elcot's farm. Elcot likes to work on his farm, Florence likes to spend his money. She likes to spend money so much she ends up borrowing money from Nevis the bad guy of the book and doesn't tell her husband. In fact everyone borrows money from Nevis, Thorne owes him money, Florence owes him money, another rancher, Jake Winthrop owes him so much money he ends up losing his farm. So Florence owes him money, but the wheat is growing beautifully and she'll be able to pay him back once the wheat is harvested, and Thorne owes him money but the wheat is growing beautifully and....then comes the hail.
This book made me think of all the things farmer go through. I watch them plant corn from our living room window every spring, but so many things could end up going wrong and they just might have a Nevis waiting for them. Or all that work I watch them doing, only for hail to come along. I'm glad I can watch the farmers without being one. I decided I won't say much more about the book, even I get tired of talking eventually. I was annoyed that at the beginning they were making a mystery of where Thorne really came from, you could tell he once had an education, was a doctor, something like that, but what it was I don't know they never told us. Maybe there's a book two, then we can see what happens to those hit hardest by the hail, who ends up losing their farms, who ends up married, what Thorne used to do, and if Alison ever bothers to contact her family again. I liked the book enough to download another one I started reading last night. So if you want to learn about wheat, prairies, Canada, and farming, read the book. Whatever you decide, happy reading.
June 3, 2022
Alison Leigh had some problems in England, so decided to emigrate to Canada. She'd lined up a job in Winnipeg. But when she got there, she found the company had gone out of business. She decided to head a bit further west to see if she could stay with a woman with whom she had been friendly back in England. It wasn't completely clear the woman would be glad to see her: Alison's mother and the woman had had some "issues" back in the day.
At the nearest train station to where her friend, Florence Hunter, lived, she asked how to get out that way. There was no particular public transportation, but an itinerant peddler, Maverick Thorne (aka Leslie), would be going that way in a day or so. Alison hunted up Mav Thorne and they soon set out together. It turned out that Mav was a bit of a character, but basically nice and he didn't try to make any improper moves on Alison.
They had to stop along the way at the Farquhar household. Mrs. Farquhar told Alison that she would be welcome to live (and work a bit) with them if things didn't work out at the Hunters'. That turned out to be the case. Florence Hunter was an entitled princess type, unfit for pretty much anything save vapid social interactions. She spent a good part of her life away from her husband, spending his hard earned money in the cities.
So, Alison lives with the Farquhar's. Mav drifts in and out, and eventually decided to give up itinerant peddling and become a proper farmer. He does this because he's decided to hook up with Alison if she'll have him. It takes quite some time for him to get straightened out. Along the way, we have a devious character, Nevis, trying to defraud the locals out of their farms and money. Mav helps foil the scoundrel and, eventually, the good guys live happily ever after.
I rather liked this book, and will continue reading more by Bindloss in the future.
At the nearest train station to where her friend, Florence Hunter, lived, she asked how to get out that way. There was no particular public transportation, but an itinerant peddler, Maverick Thorne (aka Leslie), would be going that way in a day or so. Alison hunted up Mav Thorne and they soon set out together. It turned out that Mav was a bit of a character, but basically nice and he didn't try to make any improper moves on Alison.
They had to stop along the way at the Farquhar household. Mrs. Farquhar told Alison that she would be welcome to live (and work a bit) with them if things didn't work out at the Hunters'. That turned out to be the case. Florence Hunter was an entitled princess type, unfit for pretty much anything save vapid social interactions. She spent a good part of her life away from her husband, spending his hard earned money in the cities.
So, Alison lives with the Farquhar's. Mav drifts in and out, and eventually decided to give up itinerant peddling and become a proper farmer. He does this because he's decided to hook up with Alison if she'll have him. It takes quite some time for him to get straightened out. Along the way, we have a devious character, Nevis, trying to defraud the locals out of their farms and money. Mav helps foil the scoundrel and, eventually, the good guys live happily ever after.
I rather liked this book, and will continue reading more by Bindloss in the future.
February 7, 2012
Three and a half stars.
The value of these books by Bindloss, lies not in their storyline so much as in their descriptions of the life of a pioneer on the Canadian prairie, and other places in Canada just after the turn of the 20th Century, he writes about.
The writing itself has far too much exposition for modern tastes, and for those looking for the thrill of non-stop action, the pace will seem extremely slow. These books are character driven, and much time is given to examining the motives and character of his main protagonists, of which there are generally four or more.
His descriptions of the settings, and of the various tasks and jobs in this world are evocative, however, and I came away with a strong sense of what it must have been like to live and work as a pioneer, and of the difficulties the pioneers encountered, some winning, and some losing the battle.
From what I have read, Bindloss himself lived and worked in pioneer Canada, before returning to Englnd, and this lends authority and realism to the settings.
I enjoy these books.
The value of these books by Bindloss, lies not in their storyline so much as in their descriptions of the life of a pioneer on the Canadian prairie, and other places in Canada just after the turn of the 20th Century, he writes about.
The writing itself has far too much exposition for modern tastes, and for those looking for the thrill of non-stop action, the pace will seem extremely slow. These books are character driven, and much time is given to examining the motives and character of his main protagonists, of which there are generally four or more.
His descriptions of the settings, and of the various tasks and jobs in this world are evocative, however, and I came away with a strong sense of what it must have been like to live and work as a pioneer, and of the difficulties the pioneers encountered, some winning, and some losing the battle.
From what I have read, Bindloss himself lived and worked in pioneer Canada, before returning to Englnd, and this lends authority and realism to the settings.
I enjoy these books.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews