Unforgettable, Unforgotten

I was first introduced to the writing of the author O. Douglas about a year ago, but it wasn't until a few months ago that I discovered that the author's real name was Anna Buchan, and that she was also the sister of the author John Buchan, who became Lord Tweedsmuir, Governor General of Canada during the 1930s. I've been fascinated by John Buchan ever since elementary school when I read The Thirty-Nine Steps and did a project on him as Governor General. So I was pleased to find that my library system had this almost 70 year old book in their Canadiana Collection.

The book started off slowly, with childhood memories, but picked up momentum as the author aged. Her account of her visit to India is fascinating, and I enjoyed her insight show more into social changes wrought by the two World Wars. There are descriptions of her visits to Canada, touring the country on the Governor General's train—a most unusual perspective. It ends in 1945, three years before her death. There's no dirt dished in this book. She has nothing but good to say of anyone. Which is kind of a nice change from most modern autobiographies. show less