The Protector

by Harold Bindloss

In some respects, Vane was glad to be back in the western city. At first, the ease and leisure at the Dene had their charm for him, but by degrees he came to chafe at them. The green English valley, hemmed in by its sheltering hills, was steeped in too profound a tranquillity; the stream of busy life passed it by with scarcely an entering ripple to break its drowsy calm. One found its atmosphere enervating, dulling to the faculties. In the new West, however, one was forcibly thrust into contact with a strenuous activity. Life was free and untrammeled there; it flowed with a fierce joyousness in natural channels, and one could feel the eager throb of it.

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1911

About the author

Harold 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.

Reviews

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another delightful story of the Canadian frontier by Harold Bindloss. The description of the Canadian wilderness makes you practically feel the scenery and how beautiful and yet threatening it is to the hero. As usual, Bindloss throws in a few unscrupulous men to make things even harder for the hero.

[Henri Moreaux · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Protector, also released in some markets as Vane of the Timberlands, is, in my opinion, a pretty average early 20th century novel.

The novel is set in the time period of writing in western Canada, and the main thrust of the novel related Wallace Vane who has become well off on the back of his copper & silver discovery at the Clermont mine. The guy is a pretty decent bloke who does his best to help others, and some nefarious characters around him take advantage of this as he is off searching for a timber plantation to help some acquaintances.

I found Kyne's Valley of the Giants which is also set in the early 20th century involving a timber business in the USA was a dramatically better novel that was much more engaging, vivid and immersive. The business maneuvering was related to the reader in a more detailed and meaningful way than the abrupt and far too concise manner in which Wallace Vane loses control of Clermont mine whilst he's away looking for timber up the Strait of Georgia.

I'd recommend Valley of Giants over this if your interested in some picturesque early 1900s fiction and don't mind where in North America it is set.