What do you think?
Rate this book
As British as the King: Lunenburg County During the First World War
In August 1914, the long-established Germans of Lunenburg County found themselves facing a dilemma: Canada was at war with Germany. They met suspicions of disloyalty with the claim that their roots were deep in the German states of mid-eighteenth-century central Europe, long before unification. They were, then, as British as King George V himself.
As British as the King explores life in Lunenburg County at a time when blackouts were enforced, when there were rumours of spies, and when schooners were sunk offshore by U-boats. Intricately and thoroughly researched, this fascinating historical account brings an exquisite level of detail to the history of the war effort on the home front. Historians and Nova Scotians with Lunenburg roots will appreciate author Gerald Hallowell’s passion for his subject—a passion that echoes that of his previous work, The August Gales, for which he received the 2014 Democracy 250 Atlantic Book Award for Historical Writing.
Features a historical map and 30+ black and white images.
As British as the King explores life in Lunenburg County at a time when blackouts were enforced, when there were rumours of spies, and when schooners were sunk offshore by U-boats. Intricately and thoroughly researched, this fascinating historical account brings an exquisite level of detail to the history of the war effort on the home front. Historians and Nova Scotians with Lunenburg roots will appreciate author Gerald Hallowell’s passion for his subject—a passion that echoes that of his previous work, The August Gales, for which he received the 2014 Democracy 250 Atlantic Book Award for Historical Writing.
Features a historical map and 30+ black and white images.
256 pages, Paperback
Published September 30, 2019
3 people are currently reading
11 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 26, 2019
I was very happy to see this book pop up on NetGalley and immediately requested it! (Thank you Nimbus Publishing & NetGalley)
I’m from Lunenburg county and was looking to get more into local history and this just seemed like the perfect start.
This book delves into many important topics concerning the county and country during the first world war.
I’ve learned so many interesting bits of history I didn’t know before, I’m so glad I read this book. Most interestingly was the accounts and perspectives of newspapers of the time, how involved Lunenburg County was in relation to the rest of the country, how instrumental the women in the county were toward the suffragette movement and the right to vote, and most terrifyingly the amount of fisherman on the south shore who had their vessels sank and were taken hostage by germans on U-Boats. Germany could’ve invaded the province at any moment.
What was most amusing about this book were the mentions of my small town, its hooliganism, and rum-running— not much has changed in 100 years!
Very enjoyable, eye-opening and insightful.
I will most certainly pick up a hard copy!
5 stars.
I’m from Lunenburg county and was looking to get more into local history and this just seemed like the perfect start.
This book delves into many important topics concerning the county and country during the first world war.
I’ve learned so many interesting bits of history I didn’t know before, I’m so glad I read this book. Most interestingly was the accounts and perspectives of newspapers of the time, how involved Lunenburg County was in relation to the rest of the country, how instrumental the women in the county were toward the suffragette movement and the right to vote, and most terrifyingly the amount of fisherman on the south shore who had their vessels sank and were taken hostage by germans on U-Boats. Germany could’ve invaded the province at any moment.
What was most amusing about this book were the mentions of my small town, its hooliganism, and rum-running— not much has changed in 100 years!
Very enjoyable, eye-opening and insightful.
I will most certainly pick up a hard copy!
5 stars.
October 28, 2019
Another look at Canada in the War - but Nova Scotia history. Nice primary text and images. Good for those who like maritime history.
February 23, 2020
Very interesting and well-written. A lot of local detail interspersed with global context.
August 31, 2020
A fascinating and exceptionally well-researched local history - with deep relevance for a more complicated understanding of ethnic tensions in Canada during 1914-18 - featuring especially sensitive portrayals of Lunenburg's young men caught up in the upheaval of the Great War.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews