The Englishman's Boy - Softcover

Vanderhaeghe, Guy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0802144101 ISBN 13: 9780802144102

Publisher: Grove Press, 2009

Synopsis

Originally published in 1996, The Englishman’s Boy is the first in a Guy Vanderhaeghe trilogy that includes the nationally best-selling novel The Last Crossing, with the third book due to be published next year. By far his most successful book in his native Canada, The Englishman’s Boy expertly depicts an American West where greed and deception act side by side with honor and strength. In 1920s Hollywood, elusive movie studio owner Damon Ira Chance is obsessed with making pictures rooted in American history and experience, with the poetry of fact. So when he discovers that one of the most popular bit players in the Westerns is a real-life tin god the last buffalo of the old West, Shorty McAdoo he commissions an ambitious young screenwriter named Harry Vincent to hunt Shorty down and retell his story. Richly textured and evocative, this is an unforgettable story about power, greed, and the pull of dreams. At once an intensely original character study and a hugely entertaining page-turner, The Englishman’s Boy is a gritty, resonant novel of timeless beauty and insight.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

"The Englishman's Boy brilliantly links together Hollywood in the 1920s with one of the bloodiest, most brutal events of the nineteenth-century Canadian West - the Cypress Hills Massacre. Vanderhaeghe's rendering of the stark, dramatic beauty of the western landscape and of Hollywood in its most extravagant era - with its visionaries, celebrities, and dreamers - provides vivid background for scenes of action, adventure, and intrigue. Richly textured, evocative of time and place, this is an unforgettable novel about power, greed, and the pull of dreams that has at its centre the haunting story of a young drifter - "the Englishman's boy" - whose fate, ultimately, is a tragic one.

Review:

"It is a wonder and a glory - written by a man who has plundered the language for all its treasures. The story of the Englishman's boy and his journey into hell and back is absolutely riveting."
-Timothy Findley
""The Englishman's Boy" is one of the finest historical novels ever written by a Canadian, an impossible-to-put-down adventure story that also packs some keen insights into the way civilization works...."
-"Maclean's"
"A vital and important novel with a bitterly coruscating message at its heart. Read it now."
-"Edmonton Journal"
"A great accomplishment."
-Richard Ford
"A stunning performance. Highly enjoyable. I couldn't put it down."
-Mordecai Richler
"The canvas is broad, the writing is vivid, and the two story-lines are deftly interwoven to contrast cinematic 'truth' with history as it happened. An intense and original piece of writing."
-"The Bookseller" (U.K.)
"A richly textured epic that passes with flying colors every test that could be applied for good storytelling."
-Saskatoon "StarPhoenix"
"Characters and landscapes are inscribed on the mind's eye in language both startling and lustrous."
-"Globe and Mail"
"Vanderhaeghe succeeds at a daring act: he juggles style and stories with the skill of a master...."
-"Financial Post"
"There isn't a dull moment."
-"Toronto Sun"
"A fine piece of storytelling, which, like all serious works of literature, as it tells its tale connects us to timeless human themes."
-"Winnipeg Sun"
"The Great Canadian Western."
-"Canadian Forum"
"Thematically, this is a big book, an important book, about history and truth, brutality and lies."
-"Georgia Straight"
"A compelling read."
-"Halifax Daily News"
"Vanderhaeghe shows himself to be as fine a stylist as there is writing today."
-"Ottawa Citizen"

" It is a wonder and a glory - written by a man who has plundered the language for all its treasures. The story of the Englishman's boy and his journey into hell and back is absolutely riveting."
- Timothy Findley
" "The Englishman's Boy" is one of the finest historical novels ever written by a Canadian, an impossible-to-put-down adventure story that also packs some keen insights into the way civilization works.... "
- "Maclean' s"
" A vital and important novel with a bitterly coruscating message at its heart. Read it now."
- "Edmonton Journal"
" A great accomplishment."
- Richard Ford
" A stunning performance. Highly enjoyable. I couldn't put it down."
- Mordecai Richler
" The canvas is broad, the writing is vivid, and the two story-lines are deftly interwoven to contrast cinematic ' truth' with history as it happened. An intense and original piece of writing."
- "The Bookseller" (U.K.)
" A richly textured epic that passes with flying colors every test that could be applied for good storytelling."
- Saskatoon "StarPhoenix"
" Characters and landscapes are inscribed on the mind's eye in language both startling and lustrous."
- "Globe and Mail"
" Vanderhaeghe succeeds at a daring act: he juggles style and stories with the skill of a master.... "
- "Financial Post"
" There isn't a dull moment."
- "Toronto Sun"
" A fine piece of storytelling, which, like all serious works of literature, as it tells itstale connects us to timeless human themes."
- "Winnipeg Sun"
" The Great Canadian Western."
- "Canadian Forum"
" Thematically, this is a big book, an important book, about history and truth, brutality and lies."
- "Georgia Straight"
" A compelling read."
- "Halifax Daily News"
" Vanderhaeghe shows himself to be as fine a stylist as there is writing today."
- "Ottawa Citizen"

About this edition

• Publisher: Grove Press
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0802144101
• ISBN 13: 9780802144102
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352