Robert Service: Under the Spell of the Yukon

by Enid Mallory, Jack Whyte (Foreword)

In 1907, a shy bank clerk sent a collection of his poems south from the Yukon to be privately published and shared with a small group of friends. Fate intervened, however, and Robert Service became a household name across North America and throughout the British Commonwealth. Words were Service's lifelong passion, and he set them on many stages. But it was Dan McGrew, Sam McGee and other players of the Great White North who glittered with a golden glow and forever made him the "Bard of the Yukon" and the de facto Poet Laureate of Alaska.

Enid Mallory's Robert Service: Under the Spell of the Yukon sheds new light on the life and career of this intriguing and intensely private man, and celebrates the poet's verse. This softcover edition includes a selection of some of Service's most loved poems, including "The Cremation of Sam McGee," "The Shooting of Dan McGrew," "The Call of the Wild," "The Spell of the Yukon" and "The Ballad of Blasphemous Bill."

288 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 2006

About the author

Enid Swerdfeger Mallory grew up near the St. Lawrence River and saw the ghosts of Canadian history passing by. She attended Queen's University, became a social worker and then a librarian, but always a writer. She lives in Peterborough, Ontario.

Reviews

[Randy Skretka]

This book was a gift to me by my Aunt. I didn't think it could be all the good - I had thought the Robert Service poems would be corny.

But wow, what a life Service led! Talk about a wondering adventurer, really far from the stuffy boring poet I had him pegged to be.

The book is easy to read and it goes fast.

[Kent]

Very well written. An honest and well researched biography. Writing at times is very lyrical. Lots of great photos. Makes me want to go back and reread Service poetry.

Well done!

[Carolyn]

Having recently read a book about explorers in the Yukon, I picked this up as Robert Service was a well-known Yukoner (?) during the same time period. It's a well researched book but didn't hold my attention very well. I thought there was going to be more of his poetry in this.