The Foreigner: A Tale of Saskatchewan

by Ralph Connor

Rev. Dr. Charles William Gordon used the pen name Ralph Connor when writing his novels in order to preserve his status as a church leader. The Frontier: A Tale of Saskatchewan is an adventure with strong themes of morality and justice. The story follows life on the Canadian plains with the influx of new people from foreign lands. The settlers bring with them their customs, traditions, problems and their humor. Throughout all of their adjustments a strong sense of their religious beliefs supports them.

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Canada

384 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1909

About the author

University of Toronto educated Charles William Gordon, ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1890. Under the pseudonym Ralph Connor, he published more than thirty novels, including The Man from Glengarry (1901) and Glengarry School Days (1902). These novels made him an internationally best-selling author.

Reviews

[Marina Garrison]

The story of the Kalmar family, primarily the son Kalman, The father brings the two children to Canada leaving them in the custody of their stepmother who betrays him by sleeping with his arch enemy from the old country (Russia). The stepmother repents by placing the kids with another woman to civilize them. The daughter becomes a nurse and the son goes off to ranch. The son does well and ends up meeting a British/Scotch girl who he believes is too good for him. On his discovery of a seam of coal in a cave, he saves her life. The fathers' arch enemy tries to steal the mine unsuccessfully then tries to blow it up. Kalmar's father kills him but gets shot. Kalmar ends up winning his love back years later.

[Denise]

This book had a more interesting plot, about the Galicians, who came from Poland, Russia and Austria and settled in Manitoba.The story involves a woman, who tries to raise her husband's two children by herself. An unscrupulous man,cheats her and she ends up indebted to him and he turns her house into a brothel. One evening, the husband returns and we learn, that there is a blood feud between her husband and the cheater, that started years ago in Russia. The cheater was responsible for the death of the husband's first wife, who was the mother of the children and a member of the nobility.The husband is a nihilist and swears to avenge his first wife's murder.