Story of a Nation: Defining Moments in Our History

by Margaret Atwood (Contributor)

64 Members ½ (3.33)

On This Page

Description

Inspired by history,Story of a Nationis a beautifully illustrated collection of original stories from some of Canada's most celebrated and best-loved authors. Twelve of the country's finest writers, including Margaret Atwood, Roch Carrier, Timothy Findley, Antonine Maillet, Alberto Manguel and Michael Turner, when presented with the question, What are the great events in Canadian history? responded by travelling into the past to discover the moments, both familiar and unexpected, that shaped show more our nation. Drawing on their skills as master storytellers, the contributors to this collection offer wonderfully imaginative accounts of what it's like to make history. Margaret Atwood casts her eye back to 1759 and brilliantly captures the journal entries of a frightened French woman, trapped in Québec City as the English forces attack. In "The First of July," David Macfarlane's youthful narrator loses himself in the papers of an elderly neighbour, and through the records of her past, experiences the heartbreaking, stunting loss of war. In Thomas King's hilarious story, "Where the Borg Are," a young boy named Milton Friendlybear offers a Star Trekkian reinterpretation of the Indian Act, linking its significance to the fate of the universe. And revisiting an occasion of huge national pride, Michelle Berry tells the story of a four-year-old girl caught up in the excitement of the 1972 Summit Series, hopeful that the passion of hockey will hold her crumbling family together. Each of these magical stories is further brought to life by an accompanying visual narrative. Vividly illustrating the joy, sorrow, anger and passion of more than two centuries of our history, here are fifty unforgettable images: the Belgian Queen, a seductive reminder that the Klondike of Roch Carrier's story was anything but a purely masculine domain; Kurt Meyer, the SS officer who represented evil in the childhood of John Ralston Saul and of many other children whose fathers landed on Juno beach in June 1944; and Viola Desmond at the Hi-Hat Club, whose glamour and elegance contrasted starkly with the small-minded racism so powerfully chronicled by Dionne Brand. With a preface by Rudyard Griffiths, executive director of The Dominion Institute, and introduced by distinguished historian Christopher Moore,Story of a Nationis a moving celebration of Canada's extraordinary history and our exceptional writers. show less

Tags

Recommendations

Member Reviews

Members

Recently Added By

Author Information

Picture of author.
Contributor
282+ Works 198,760 Members
Margaret Atwood was born on November 18, 1939 in Ottawa, Canada. She received a B.A. from Victoria College, University of Toronto in 1961 and an M.A. from Radcliff College in 1962. Her first book of verse, Double Persephone, was published in 1961 and was awarded the E. J. Pratt Medal. She has published numerous books of poetry, novels, story show more collections, critical work, juvenile work, and radio and teleplays. Her works include The Journals of Susanna Moodie, Power Politics, Cat's Eye, The Robber Bride, Morning in the Buried House, the MaddAdam trilogy, and The Heart Goes Last. She has won numerous awards including the Prince of Asturias Award for Literature, the Booker Prize in 2000 for The Blind Assassin, the Giller Prize and the Premio Mondello for Alias Grace, and the Governor General's Award in 1966 for The Circle Game and in 1986 for The Handmaid's Tale, which also won the very first Arthur C. Clarke Award in 1987. She won the PEN Pinter prize in 2016 for her political activism. She was awarded the 2016 PEN Pinter Prize for the outstanding literary merit of her body of work. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

All Editions

Berry, Michelle (Contributor)
Brand, Dionne (Contributor)
Carrier, Roch (Contributor)
Findley, Timothy (Contributor)
King, Thomas (Contributor)
Macfarlane, David (Contributor)
Maillet, Antonine (Contributor)
Manguel, Alberto (Contributor)
Moore, Christopher (Introduction)
Niedzviecki. Hal (Contributor)
Saul, John Ralston (Contributor)
Turner, Michael (Contributor)

Some Editions

Rodger, Jim (Narrator)

Common Knowledge

Canonical title
Story of a Nation: Defining Moments in Our History
Important places
Canada; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Classifications

Genre
Fiction and Literature
DDC/MDS
813.08108971Literature & rhetoricAmerican literature in EnglishAmerican fiction in EnglishBy typeGenre fictionHistorical fictionCollections
LCC
PR9197.35 .H57 .S86Language and LiteratureEnglishEnglish LiteratureEnglish literature: Provincial, local, etc.
BISAC

Statistics

Members
64
Popularity
484,207
Rating
½ (3.33)
Languages
English
Media
Paper
ISBNs
2
ASINs
1