Macdonald: A Novel

by Roy MacSkimming

Roy MacSkimming has conjured an extraordinary novelistic recreation of the last days of Canada's indomitable first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald.

Genres: Historical Fiction

201 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 6, 2007

Reviews

[Barbara Sibbald]

I have always wondered about Sir John A. Macdonald. What sort of man was he? Kind? Formidable? Intelligent? Ruthless? My curiosity was sated in part by this fictional telling of John A's last few months in 1891 as told from the perspective of his private secretary, Joseph Pope, the man himself and, sometimes, the POV of his feisty second wife, Lady Agnes Macdonald. The research and political machinations are impressive (though I'm positive there are no strawberries to be had in the Ottawa Valley in April). I accompany the man to his many dinner parties, the House of Commons, conversation with political allies and foes, time spent with his children and grandchildren, but I wish my knowledge of him was deeper: his background, his parentage, his assent to become THE father of Confederation. And the nasty bits are mostly skimmed over, except his regrets over Riel's execution. But what of the Indian Act? There were naysayers at the time and certainly by the time of the epilogue (1921). This is a shortcoming, I think.
Still, there is no doubt he was a great, extremely intelligent and remarkable man. Canadians owe him much. I will read more about him and am happy for this introduction.

[Sonja Seeber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful fictional (with historical background) story of one of the founding fathers of Canada. Time frame is the last 5 months of Prime Minister John A. MacDonald in 1891. Governmental politicking in lovely readable prose.

[rabbitprincess · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book started off somewhat odd but amply redeemed itself by the end. It chronicles the last months of Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada's first prime minister, as narrated by his personal secretary. We follow the 1891 election campaign, revelations about a scandal in Quebec, and Sir John's declining health, all with the immediacy afforded by present-tense narration. Normally this type of narration bothers me, but honestly I didn't notice until the end of the first chapter, and by the end of the second chapter I was pretty much reconciled with it. What I did have difficulty with was Chapter 2, which I didn't realize was being told from Sir John's perspective until several paragraphs in. That required a reread to help me get my bearings. But that confusion was likely my fault, because Sir John's occasional interludes *are* mentioned in the back cover blurb, which I read but apparently not attentively enough!

The story itself is packed with details to command the reader's attention, and the characters are vividly drawn, pulling you into their world. Toward the end of the book, it's very moving to see both sides of the House of Commons come together as they mark the end of an era. Laurier's eulogy (presumably taken from Hansard) nearly brought me to tears. It was wonderful to see that even though these two men disagreed so dramatically in their political views, they still respected and admired each other as opponents and people.

There are a few deviations from the historical record, and places where the author undoubtedly had to make up dialogue and draw his own conclusions based on his knowledge of the "characters", but unless you are a serious Macdonald scholar you probably won't notice, and even if you do, the book does not purport to be non-fiction, so it is nothing to worry about. Recommended for Canadian history buffs.

[Thebruce1314 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every word in this book felt perfectly placed; I could almost imagine myself a part of the conversations between Sir John and his private secretary. Where it fell a little flat - and the reason that I gave it only four stars - was in the plot. The novel follows Sir John through his last few months of life, and paints a vivid picture of what it was like for him and his political efforts as PM to be frustrated by ill health. I appreciate that the story stayed true to history, but there really was no plot to speak of. The narrative relies more on emotion than action to carry it forward, which was an interesting angle. I really enjoyed the book for the most part, but it wasn't always the most stimulating read.