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A Tale That is Told [microform]
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
354 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1920
2 people want to read
About the author
Frederick Niven
61 books1 followerFrederick John Niven was a Canadian novelist of Scottish heritage. A prolific author, he produced over thirty works of fiction, an autobiography, poetry, essays, and pieces of journalism.
Niven was born in Valparaiso, Chile, the youngest of three children. His father manufactured sewed muslin, while his mother was a Calvinist born in Calcutta. When he reached school age, he accompanied his mother to Scotland. He was educated at Hutcheson's Grammar School, Glasgow, where his heart trouble prevented him from swimming. First employed in his father's factory, he later worked as a librarian in Glasgow and Edinburgh, and also had employment in a jewelry shop. He attended the Glasgow School of Art during the evening for two years. On the advice of a doctor, in his late teens Niven moved to the drier climate of the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. He worked on a railroad near Savona and dug ditches in Vancouver. When he was twenty years old, he spent a summer tramping in southern British Columbia, later portrayed in Wild Honey. His return to Scotland was aboard a cattleboat from Montreal, a setting recreated in S. S. Glory (1915).
After his arrival, he contributed western sketches to the Glasgow Weekly Herald, and later, to The Pall Mall Magazine, eventually becoming a journalist. His first novel, Lost Cabin Mine (1908), was a Western published serially in The Popular Magazine. His second, The Island of Providence (1910), a historical romance of 17th century Devon, contained scenes replete with pirates and buccaneers. His first foray into realistically depicting Scottish life was A Wilderness of Monkeys (1911).
In 1911, Niven married Mary Pauline Thorne-Quelch, a journalist fifteen years his junior. In 1912 and 1913 the couple spent several months travelling in Western Canada prior to returning to London before WWI. Niven was rejected for military service due to his heart condition. He spent the war working for the Ministry of Food and the War Office. This period, the years 1913 to 1920, was most productive, and included the publication of Justice of the Peace (1914), which many, including his wife, consider to be his finest novel. His first volume of poetry, Maple Leaf Songs, appeared in 1917.
Niven was born in Valparaiso, Chile, the youngest of three children. His father manufactured sewed muslin, while his mother was a Calvinist born in Calcutta. When he reached school age, he accompanied his mother to Scotland. He was educated at Hutcheson's Grammar School, Glasgow, where his heart trouble prevented him from swimming. First employed in his father's factory, he later worked as a librarian in Glasgow and Edinburgh, and also had employment in a jewelry shop. He attended the Glasgow School of Art during the evening for two years. On the advice of a doctor, in his late teens Niven moved to the drier climate of the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. He worked on a railroad near Savona and dug ditches in Vancouver. When he was twenty years old, he spent a summer tramping in southern British Columbia, later portrayed in Wild Honey. His return to Scotland was aboard a cattleboat from Montreal, a setting recreated in S. S. Glory (1915).
After his arrival, he contributed western sketches to the Glasgow Weekly Herald, and later, to The Pall Mall Magazine, eventually becoming a journalist. His first novel, Lost Cabin Mine (1908), was a Western published serially in The Popular Magazine. His second, The Island of Providence (1910), a historical romance of 17th century Devon, contained scenes replete with pirates and buccaneers. His first foray into realistically depicting Scottish life was A Wilderness of Monkeys (1911).
In 1911, Niven married Mary Pauline Thorne-Quelch, a journalist fifteen years his junior. In 1912 and 1913 the couple spent several months travelling in Western Canada prior to returning to London before WWI. Niven was rejected for military service due to his heart condition. He spent the war working for the Ministry of Food and the War Office. This period, the years 1913 to 1920, was most productive, and included the publication of Justice of the Peace (1914), which many, including his wife, consider to be his finest novel. His first volume of poetry, Maple Leaf Songs, appeared in 1917.
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