Mary Beacock Fryer (1929–2017)

This was a great biography, enough detail to tell the tale and be faithful to the record without getting bogged down. There's a bit of a theme of a man fighting against British bureaucracy to see the right thing done, but I suppose that's true of any individual in such a large enterprise. It's a sympathetic portrayal, and perhaps skips over questions around Simcoe's behavior in the American Revolution - it alludes to them and quickly notes the allegations were rejected by his superiors - and show more Haiti - it discusses the moral implications of his Haitian stationing given he was opposed to slavery but seems to shrug its shoulders and say, well, he was just doing his job. Perhaps there's no more to say than that. What's clear from this book is that Simcoe was a somewhat minor figure and the regard he is held in in Canada is far and above the regard he was held in at the time of his life and the import of any other postings he had during his life. show less

Fryer does a credible job of this important figure in a pivotal period of Canadian history. Well documented and researched, presented in a clear, accessible fashion. A must read for anyone interested in Canadian history, proof positive Canadian history is anything but boring.
I'd recommend every primary and secondary school use this book as a text for Canadian history.

research reading. the writing was not very good, though the information/research done for the book was strong.

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