The Imperialist

by Sara Jeannette Duncan

Sara Jeannette Duncan’s classic portrait of a turn-of-the-century Ontario town, The Imperialist captures the spirit of an emergent nation through the example of two young dreamers. Impassioned by “the Imperialist idea,” Lorne Murchison rests his bid for office on his vision of a rejuvenated British Empire.

Genres: Canada, Fiction, Canadian Literature, Classics, Read For School, Historical Fiction, Politics

484 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1904

About the author

Canadian born author and journalist.

After her marriage to Everard Charles Cotes she spent most of her time between England & India.
Duncan had been treated for tuberculosis in 1900, spending the summer out of doors in the fresh air of Simla, as chronicled in On the Other Side of the Latch (1901), published in the United States and Canada as The Crow's Nest. Duncan died of chronic lung disease on 22 July 1922 at Ashtead, Surrey, whence she and her husband had moved in 1921.

In 2016, she was named a National Historic Person on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.

information extracted from Wikipedia
a.k.a.:
Mrs. Everard Cotes
Sara Everard Cotes
Sara Jeannette Duncan Cotes

This author also writes under the pseudonym Mrs Everard Cotes.

Reviews

[Perry Whitford · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intelligent and insightful snapshot of provincial Canada as it entered the 20th century, torn between striking out alone in the world or strengthening imperial ties with the mother country.

Lorne Murchison is the first-generation son of a respectable immigrant family, convinced that preferential trade with Britain is the way forward, willing to put his reputation on the line to convince the people of his upwardly mobile Ontario county likewise.

Not only this, he believes that Canada needs to take the initiative in directing the British government that this is the case - "Doesn't there come a time in the history of all families," Lorne replied, "when the old folks look to the sons and daughters to keep them in touch with the times?"

But everyone else in the town has their own views about Canada, where the country is and where it's going, such as his bookish sister Advena: "we're on the straight road as a nation, in most respects; we haven't any picturesque old prescribed lanes to travel."

She begins a tentative relationship with a newly arrived Scottish minister, which subtly mirrors the public story. Lorne falls in love with Dora Milburn, whose conservative family are polar opposite of the liberal Murchisons politically.

I have no idea why Duncan is a largely forgotten writer today, or why this deftly ironical novel has been rated so poorly on Goodreads. This is the second book I have read by her recently and I have liked them both a lot.

Admittedly it's a little short on conventional drama, on truly memorable scenes, and doesn't really draw any clearly defined conclusions, but she writes so well it's just a pleasure to read.

[Mjhancock · Rating 4 out of 5]

The romance subplot, though ultimately somewhat superfluous in the book's larger scheme, is well done, striking the right balance of resigned affection for the characters involved. In fact, Duncan amply balances all her characters, so that no one is entirely a stereotype or walking cliche. The imperialist bent of the main narrative is compelling, though largely for a radically different interpretation of early 20th century Canada's potential on the global stage. I have to disagree with the afterword--the main draw to the book now is its historical interest, but the book's charm and affection for its characters make it a little more endearing.

[Kaeli Wood · Rating 2 out of 5]

advena’s love plot is interesting but the rest is Canadian politics so you know how THAT is

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

The tone of this book is like L.M. Montgomery's writing voice, only with jarring throwaway racist and ableist comments on the part of both characters and narrator. The rest is bad politics with some amusing social commentary that doesn't achieve enough distance from its subject to really work for me as satire. You're not always quite sure if you're supposed to agree with what's going on.
The main character, Lorne Murchison, isn't nearly as interesting as his sister Advena, whose story is given less page time though it's much more riveting. I found it difficult to care about yet another white guy who's totally blind to his privilege. I'd be happy to be friends with Advena. I'd be bored to talk to Lorne.
Duncan's writing style is excellent, despite the problems one finds as a 21st-century reader. She has a wonderful vocabulary and a gift for wry phrasing and funny similes.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is far too long. The characters kind of annoyed me as well. The only thing that kept me going in this book was the love affair between the minister and the main characters sister. Other than that I wouldn't suggest reading this unless you have to.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a solid novel of manners. More interesting, however, is a nation that is coming to grips with an identity that is intertwined with British imperialism.

[Ambdkerr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly I longed to read more of Advena, a far more interesting and dynamic character, than her brother Lorne. But I guess then I wouldn't have been reading a novel about imperialism.

[Dessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is much more interesting to talk about than to read - describing a particular moment in Canadian history / Canadian-British relations. Important, yes, but also intensely dull.

[Andrew Pritchard · Rating 1 out of 5]

got as far as page 50, too slow and boring.

[Maja Tesic · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was a slow start...very uneventful...I think there was a whole chapter describing a house but it did pick up

a lot of ppl here are saying that it's a boring political book but there were two love stories to take the edge off. I liked it Because for the most part there was never two consecutive chapters about the same thing. that kept u from getting bored with a subject matter. it'd go love story one, a little bit of politics, love story two, etc.

the politics for the most part were written from an idealists perspective (easy to follow) although there was some nitty gritty views in there too.

her writing btwn the two love stories and the political stuff was very different from one another. with Avena it was kinda sensational writing. with lornes love interest it reminded me of the proper women in a Jane Austen book and the political stuff had two types of writing. one was very controlled and technical and the other romantic idealism that was almost poetic.

it's not a long book but it took me a while to read because each word was important and you had to take in each word to understand what's going on. I had to go back and reread paragraphs because I realized I missed the message.

Anyway, at the end of the day im glad I read the book, ive read worse ones

[carpe diem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Life in a small East-Canadian town mid-19th century.

Political loyalty could work against economical progress. It is also a challenge to justify it after tens of years of establishing the young nation far away, on a different continent.

Not surprisingly for the time book was written, the love affair is under pressure from social and political preconceptions.

Well-written book, with a solidly laid out narrative - perfect reading to get acquainted with Canadian classic fiction.

[Steven · Rating 2 out of 5]

While by no means a good novel, for its time, Duncan had a shrewd understanding of politics even when she was not allowed to vote. The politics were utterly dense but between them, you saw some harsh truths and in the romance, it was fun but very contrived.

[Stephanie Minelga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Duncan does an excellent job of portraying the sentiment, culture, and imperialism in Canada. Her book clearly illustrates the racism and perspectives of the time.

[Grace · Rating 1 out of 5]

A tariff-ble book. Can’t believe this is what made me finish my reading goal.

[dawn! johnson · Rating 1 out of 5]

actually so shit pls never put yourself through the torture that is reading abt canadian party politics

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Born in Ontario, Canada, Duncan spent most of her life between India and England. She was a journalist and author. The Imperialist is her best known work and was the only one set in Canada.

Part romance, part politics, this novel speaks of a time when Canada was emerging as a new country but still with strong ties to Britain.
Lorne Murchison, of Presbyterian, Scottish stock, makes a bid for office with his ideals of a rejuvenated British Empire. His sister, Advena, who reminds me very much of Anne Shirley, has high flown ideals and dreams of her own. I liked this character the most although others were interesting too.

I got very lost in the politics of the book and maybe would have to read it again to understand more. I would have liked the book more if it had focused more on the stories of the different characters.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in a fictionalized Brantford at the turn of the century, this 1904 book is something of a mixed bag. I've been having a hard time figuring out how to review it. So instead, I've just jotted some notes:

- Because I live in Brantford I found myself spending a lot of time trying to figure out exactly which bits were based on real locations and people. The footnotes of my edition helped with this, combining with lots of internet searching. It was interesting, but made for a slower read.

- As a novel, parts of this are really very good. And then you get to the political speeches. To quote a 1904 review: "The author makes her young hero, at all events, a red-hot imperialist, and she has him speak on the question and argue for it in and out of season, and at lengths which tempt the reader to skip." Exactly.

- There's an interesting contrast between Canada being portrayed as being more open and filled with opportunities than Britain, and then all of the sympathetic characters, (who are all living in this supposedly much freer country), being constrained by society and their place in it. There's one paragraph that illustrates this particularly well. We start of with the hypothetical ideal:

"The Collegiate Institute took in raw material and turned out teachers, more teachers than anything. The teachers taught, chiefly in rural districts where they could save money, and with the money they saved changed themselves into doctors, Fellows of the University, mining engineers. The Collegiate Institute was a potential melting-pot: you went in as your simple opportunities had made you; how you shaped coming out depended upon what was hidden in the core of you. You could not in any case be the same as your father before you; education in a new country is too powerful a stimulant for that, working upon material too plastic and too hypothetical; it is not yet a normal force, with an operation to be reckoned on with confidence. It is indeed the touchstone for character in a new people, for character acquired as apart from that inherited; it sometimes reveals surprises."

And then we switch to the reality of the characters in question:

"Neither Lorne Murchison nor Elmore Crow illustrates this point very nearly. Lorne would have gone into the law in any case, since his father was able to send him, and Elmore would inevitably have gone back to the crops since he was early defeated by any other possibility. Nevertheless, as they walk together in my mind along the [Brantford] market square, the [Brantford] Collegiate Institute rises infallibly behind them, a directing influence and a responsible parent."

This sort of thing comes up again and again, and I was left with the impression that the characters are mostly constrained to follow the path that they are on - they can take individual action to mess up their lives, but they can't do a whole lot to make things better.

- I was surprised at how much walking was happening, compared to other pre-car novels I've read. Was it because this one is situated in a town, vs. on an estate? Or focused on a different social class? Because it was in Canada vs. Europe?

I could go on, but this is too long and disjointed already. It was a thought-provoking and in many places quite enjoyable read, but it also had its boring bits. And many of the aspects I found interesting are because of where and when it was written - this likely would not apply to most other readers.

[Ibis3 · Rating 4 out of 5]

The middle of this book was rather tedious as the author went on and on explaining Lorne's positive support of imperialism* and his party's wavering position on the issue. I wish Duncan had spent more time on her characters, their relationships, and a little less on political philosophy. But the parts she spent on those things were very good. She writes a little like George Eliot or even Elizabeth Gaskell but with a Modern burnish, almost anticipating Virginia Woolf at times.

From the setup, the natural ending would have been an electoral success for Lorne and romantic disappointment for Advena, but Duncan switches things up and at the last minute, Lorne's political career crashes and burns (along with his proposed marriage, but good riddance), and Advena's marriage suddenly becomes convenient as well as desirable.

There are threads in this book that we can see working their way through Canadian identity in the future...


*In this book "imperialism" does not refer to colonial oppression and extermination of indigenous cultures and peoples as it is used today. Rather, it refers to protected, preferential trade agreements between the mother country and daughter countries (in this case Britain and Canada).

[Teri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read book defense:
http://letitread.blogspot.com/2010/02...

[snott · Rating 4 out of 5]

What? Turn-of-the-century-Canadian-political novel boring? huh?

Great ending - take that, idealism!

[Karie-Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a very dull book and I had a hard time reading it! Some of the minor plot themes were entertaining but the overwhelming layer of politics was difficult to get past.