Set in Victoria, B.C., in 1881, Innocent Cities brilliantly weaves together the lives and lies of an entire community. Logan Sumner is a young widower and architect who dreams of transforming the tiny port city of Victoria into one of the great cities of the world. When he’s not chiseling a record of his life onto his tombstone, Sumner awkwardly courts the daughter of James Horncastle, an inveterate gambler and the swaggering proprietor of The Great Blue Heron Hotel. Their lives – and those of the bizarre group of guests who frequent the hotel – are changed forever when a mysterious widow from Australia arrives in Victoria with startling revelations from her past. Rich with intrigue, warm humour, and a memorable cast of characters, Innocent Cities is a compelling tale from one of Canada’s finest writers.
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“A perfect tragicomedy, slipping and sliding from raucous laughter to bitter sadness and back again. Hodgins has once again set himself the task of inventing a world in all its rich contradictions of desire fulfilled and lost; and he has succeeded brilliantly.”
–Edmonton Journal
“Complex, intelligent, and artfully constructed...”
–Books in Canada
“A freewheeling story of love and ambition....”
–Toronto Star
“Hodgins writes with infectious charm and boyish enthusiasm for eccentric and larger-than-life characters....[He] is a writer of boundless energy and talent....”
–Ottawa Citizen
“Readers who enjoy Hodgins’ free play with reality, his ability to see the magical in the everyday, to take the surreal easily in his stride, will find much to beguile them...[Innocent Cities is] an elaborate and entirely welcome monument to the genius of its creator.”
– Montreal Gazette
“[Innocent Cities] has the masterful touch of a writer who knows his setting intimately....Hodgins’s greatest talent lies in his ability to create memorable portrayals of vivid, sometimes disturbing, individuals....His examination of the crippling effects of hatred and hypocrisy is at times stunning....Innocent Cities digs deep into the human character, seeking out the hidden, often nasty, baggage that people carry with them.”
–Maclean’s
“It’s a luxuriously written book, full of Hodgins’s wit, quiet wisdom and graceful turns of phrase.”
– Halifax Daily News
“Jack Hodgins tells a rattling good tale....One cannot but be delighted by the romping of such a fertile imagination, and cannot help but participate in the evident delight of this storyteller in the miracle of words as they shape...a most entertaining narrative.”
–Globe and Mail
“Innocent Cities is both humorous and enchanting, with its cast of oddball characters.”
–Saskatoon StarPhoenix
“[Hodgins’s characters] are as remarkably distinct and memorable as one’s own friends and relatives....Jack Hodgins has sung into existence a world that is at once as real as the Inner Harbour and as magical as the antipodean wilderness.”
–Monday Magazine (Victoria)
“Innocent Cities is just the kind of enjoyable, funny and endearing novel one has come to expect from Jack Hodgins....A rollicking read.”
–Nanaimo Weekend
Jack Hodgins was born and raised on Vancouver Island. He taught Creative Writing at a number of Canadian universities, and retired from the University of Victoria in 2002.
He is the author of seven novels, including The Invention of the World; The Resurrection of Joseph Bourne, winner of the Governor General’s Award; The Macken Charm; Broken Ground, winner of the Ethel Wilson Prize for Fiction; and Distance; and three books of short stories, Spit Delaney’s Island, a finalist for the Governor General’s Award; The Barclay Family Theatre; and Damage Done by the Storm. He is also the author of A Passion for Narrative: A Guide for Writing Fiction.
Hodgins has been awarded the Canada-Australia Prize, among many others, has received three honorary degrees, and has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.
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Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. VeryGood/Very Good in Mylar DJ, First Canadian Edition, mild use to edge of textblock, faint shelfwear to jacket, a nice copy (Edition:First Edition). Seller Inventory # 420736
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Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Included. Stated First Printing. A near fine book in a near fine dust jacket. Seller Inventory # 1573
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Seller: The Book Scouts, Sanborn, NY, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. First Edition. We're happy to combine shipping to save you some money. We're also always buying collectible book collections. Contact us for details. We're happy to provide pictures of any and all books for you, please just ask! Canadian first edition, first printing. Published by McClelland & Stewart in 1990. Jacket is in Near Fine condition. Light crease bottom spine area of jacket. Jacket is NOT price clipped. Covers are clean and bright. Edges are sharp. No tears or creases. The book itself is in Fine condition with no bumps or marks. The binding is straight and tight. NO remainder mark. Oversize and heavy items may require additional postage. Seller Inventory # sku520002512
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Seller: Old Algonquin Books, Arvada, CO, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. First edition. Historical novel set in 1881 Victoria, BC., as well as Victoria, Australia, and earlier San Francisco. Tiny nick on bottom board edge. Seller Inventory # 10891
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Seller: Russell Books, Victoria, BC, Canada
Hardcover. Condition: Good. First Edition. Bargain book!. Seller Inventory # X006597
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Seller: A Good Read, Toronto, ON, Canada
Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Edition. Flat signed by author on title page. Novel by the author of "The Invention of the World". 1cm tear in top left corner of front of d/j at spine, bruising/creasing to top edge. A Good Read ships from Toronto and Niagara Falls, NY - customers outside of North America please allow two to three weeks for delivery. ; 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" Tall; Signed by Author. Seller Inventory # 209
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Seller: Russell Books, Victoria, BC, Canada
Hardcover. Condition: Acceptable. Dust Jacket Condition: Fair. First Edition. Seller Inventory # FORT735105
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Seller: Edmonton Book Store, Edmonton, AB, Canada
Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 8vo pp. 393, signed by the author on the title page. Signed by Author. book. Seller Inventory # A01435
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Seller: The Next Page, Calgary, AB, Canada
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. First Edition, 1990. Personal inscription from previous owner. Signed by author on half Title page. Wrapped in mylar. Seller Inventory # 978077104186C
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Seller: Back Lane Books, North Vancouver, BC, Canada
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. Innocent Cities, Hodgins, Jack.Published by Douglas Gibson / McClelland & Stewart, Toronto, 1990. First Edition/First Printing. Signed by author on half title. beige cloth boards, black spine titles. 8vo up to 9½" tall. 398 pages. Both volume and unclipped dust jacket in fine, unread condition. Set in Victoria, B.C., in 1881, Innocent Cities brilliantly weaves together the lives and lies of an entire community. Signed by Author(s). Seller Inventory # 002504
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