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The Incrementalist: Second Printing
This fusion of fact and fiction brings authenticity to a little known facet of Canadian history. In September,1939, a modest country with limited resources or military tradition signs up for world war. In The Incrementalist , Frances McFadden finds herself propelled into the top echelon at the Bank of Canada as it faces the crushing weight of financing the conflict. Marginalized as a female, Frances struggles to support a desperate cause with the help of a curious raft of characters. Her love life is compromised by covert duties that the Official Secrets Act prevents her from sharing. On June 20, 1940, as France falls, a warship arrives in Halifax harbour with three hundred million in French gold that the Bank of Canada has promised to safeguard. But...
- GenresCanada
353 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 1, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 14, 2016
This is a terrific novel, a follow-up to Ian McKercher's first book, The Underling.
Frances McFadden is a clerk at the Bank of Canada and finds herself embroiled in a number of history-making events at the beginning of World War II. Full of history, I learned a lot about my country and my hometown (Ottawa) where it is set.
I gave up a couple of nights of television to read this fast-paced book, and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in history, banking, and/or women working in the first half of the 20th century. Comes with an excellent glossary and reference list.
Frances McFadden is a clerk at the Bank of Canada and finds herself embroiled in a number of history-making events at the beginning of World War II. Full of history, I learned a lot about my country and my hometown (Ottawa) where it is set.
I gave up a couple of nights of television to read this fast-paced book, and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in history, banking, and/or women working in the first half of the 20th century. Comes with an excellent glossary and reference list.
December 10, 2017
I am hoping that there will be a third etc. book as Frances is just coming up to the period where my mother was in Ottawa with the Canadian Women's Army Corp at Argyle Barracks. I live in Ottawa and the author captures the spirit of the city perfectly. It is fun to speculate where the Balmoral Arms is now--maybe the author will enlighten us in the future.
I especially like how the author makes the economics of the time and the characters we often know as players, but "bit" players, fascinating. The stories never lag and Frances saves the day in an unobtrusive way that is every bit as exciting as current female heroes. She is the Wonder Woman of her time.
I especially like how the author makes the economics of the time and the characters we often know as players, but "bit" players, fascinating. The stories never lag and Frances saves the day in an unobtrusive way that is every bit as exciting as current female heroes. She is the Wonder Woman of her time.
August 12, 2019
Review of The Incrementalist by Ian McKercher
The Incrementalist is a very good novel. I read it several weeks ago and am still thinking about and enjoying it. The warmth and depth of the characters, the clear well-paced sentences and the effective handling of historical material make the story work well. I recommend this as an entertaining and well written read. Bravo.
From Christina Watkins
The Incrementalist is a very good novel. I read it several weeks ago and am still thinking about and enjoying it. The warmth and depth of the characters, the clear well-paced sentences and the effective handling of historical material make the story work well. I recommend this as an entertaining and well written read. Bravo.
From Christina Watkins
December 29, 2022
Frances continues to lead her office team and also get involved in various adventures associated with her work. She visits Buckingham Palace and meets the princesses, she watches for submarines from the crows nest of the ship she is travelling on (saving the ship!). Lots of fun with her compatriots as she hob-nobs with the powerful and her Chinese gangster friend.
June 3, 2022
I enjoyed this book following a young woman suddenly thrust into the high finance of funding the 2nd world war as the secretary to the Governor of the Bank of Canada. An exciting read!
September 24, 2022
Very good book. Enjoyed it as much as his first one. Love reading stories that take place in my town.
December 5, 2016
Romance and intrigue in Ottawa on the cusp of war
By Alex Binkley
Sleepy Ottawa on the eve of the Second World War might seem like an unlikely location for intrigue and romance. With gold arriving secretly from European capitals in advance of the Nazi invasions and Canada facing insatiable demands from beleaguered Great Britain, the city is anything but tranquil.
Ottawa author Ian McKercher weaves a grand account of those events and the ordinary routine of life in the city in The Incrementalist, his second novel. Its main character is Frances McFadden, the Commerce High School dropout who joined the fledgling Bank of Canada and is tapped to replace the top assistant to the governor. Her start at the Bank is described in The Underling, the author’s well-received first book.
This fine example of historical fiction is enriched by the presence if only briefly of an array of characters who dominated Canadian political life then and in some cases well into the 1960s. They include Lester Pearson, Jack Pickersgill, C.D. Howe, Mackenzie King, Ernest Lapointe and Georges Vanier. There’s a fun vignette involving then Princess Elizabeth and her sister Margaret
Among Frances’ many adventures are watch keeping on Canadian Pacific liner returning to Canada and avoiding a U Boat torpedo. As well, there’s a secretive trip to New York in the guise of the daughter of a rich American billionaire to collect badly-needed war supplies from the under the noses of American isolationists. During it she has a chance meeting with her estranged father and an effort to reconnect begins.
McKercher’s book also makes it clear what a man’s world politics, government and business were in those days. Women generally had low level jobs although Frances learns from a small group of ladies whose influence extends beyond their positions.
Frances is instructed by the Bank Governor to keep a French cruiser laden with gold from Paris in Halifax but navy commanders and senior officials won’t pay any attention to a mere woman.
Even Frances’ brush was romance is tangled up in her status under the Officials Secrets Act, which doesn’t allow her to tell the young Agriculture Department engineer why she suddenly disappears on trips and can say little about what she does during her five and a half day work week. Paul just can’t understand that his sweetheart might have an important job that takes precedence over his plans.
The book also provides fascinating insight into the relentless demands the Canadian government faced from Great Britain for financial help in preparing for war with Germany. It’s also a reminder of just how unprepared for war Canada was in 1939 after the economic toll of the Great Depression. There were less than 10,000 men in uniform equipped with antiquated weapons, planes and ships. Five years later, there were more than one million in the armed forces, which included one of the largest navies in the world.
The author also shows the crushing pressure that political leaders and top civil servants face in trying to respond sensibly to a crisis.
By Alex Binkley
Sleepy Ottawa on the eve of the Second World War might seem like an unlikely location for intrigue and romance. With gold arriving secretly from European capitals in advance of the Nazi invasions and Canada facing insatiable demands from beleaguered Great Britain, the city is anything but tranquil.
Ottawa author Ian McKercher weaves a grand account of those events and the ordinary routine of life in the city in The Incrementalist, his second novel. Its main character is Frances McFadden, the Commerce High School dropout who joined the fledgling Bank of Canada and is tapped to replace the top assistant to the governor. Her start at the Bank is described in The Underling, the author’s well-received first book.
This fine example of historical fiction is enriched by the presence if only briefly of an array of characters who dominated Canadian political life then and in some cases well into the 1960s. They include Lester Pearson, Jack Pickersgill, C.D. Howe, Mackenzie King, Ernest Lapointe and Georges Vanier. There’s a fun vignette involving then Princess Elizabeth and her sister Margaret
Among Frances’ many adventures are watch keeping on Canadian Pacific liner returning to Canada and avoiding a U Boat torpedo. As well, there’s a secretive trip to New York in the guise of the daughter of a rich American billionaire to collect badly-needed war supplies from the under the noses of American isolationists. During it she has a chance meeting with her estranged father and an effort to reconnect begins.
McKercher’s book also makes it clear what a man’s world politics, government and business were in those days. Women generally had low level jobs although Frances learns from a small group of ladies whose influence extends beyond their positions.
Frances is instructed by the Bank Governor to keep a French cruiser laden with gold from Paris in Halifax but navy commanders and senior officials won’t pay any attention to a mere woman.
Even Frances’ brush was romance is tangled up in her status under the Officials Secrets Act, which doesn’t allow her to tell the young Agriculture Department engineer why she suddenly disappears on trips and can say little about what she does during her five and a half day work week. Paul just can’t understand that his sweetheart might have an important job that takes precedence over his plans.
The book also provides fascinating insight into the relentless demands the Canadian government faced from Great Britain for financial help in preparing for war with Germany. It’s also a reminder of just how unprepared for war Canada was in 1939 after the economic toll of the Great Depression. There were less than 10,000 men in uniform equipped with antiquated weapons, planes and ships. Five years later, there were more than one million in the armed forces, which included one of the largest navies in the world.
The author also shows the crushing pressure that political leaders and top civil servants face in trying to respond sensibly to a crisis.
November 28, 2016
Really well written. The central protagonist is a perfectly witty tour guide to follow through Ottawa in the war years. Her slices of life give you a peek into the day to day troubles of people living in the National Capital during the early days of WWII. I appreciated very much how the love interest didn't take over her life or define her. I also enjoyed how she had a complex family dynamic that didn't eclipse her own life. I found the main climax to be a bit of a damp squib, and the ending to be a bit ambiguous. Can't tell yet if I like how it left off, maybe time will let me re-visit and update my star rating one way or another.
If this becomes a trilogy, I'd love to read the third part. More work from this author would be just grand.
Edit - thought about it and liked it more the more I thought. 5 stars.
If this becomes a trilogy, I'd love to read the third part. More work from this author would be just grand.
Edit - thought about it and liked it more the more I thought. 5 stars.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews