St John Evangelist "Red Roof" Church Source: redroofmontreal - Flickr
You know, Mairiuna, how much I love going out to book sale events and I am very happy to let you know that my most recent outing to research Scottish author’s books was a rewarding one.
Maybe not as much in quantity as the McGill University Annual Book Fair but still, the quality of books found was definitely worth the trip.
The event took place near Montreal’s city centre, in the building juxtaposing the St John Evangelist Church, well known in Montreal as the “Red Roof Church”, nested between the buildings of L’Université du Québec à Montreal (UQAM) and ‘Le Quartier des Théâtres’, a non-residential area.
The Church was established in 1861 as an Anglican-Catholic parish by Father Edmund Wood and to quote Karl Raudsepp’s words, it is ‘the first Tractarian church in Canada and the first free seat church in Montreal’.
The room was neatly set-up. Books in French were on one side of the room and books in English on the other side. Each of these two sections was divided into topics which made the perusing so much easier to perform. Thumbs up to the organizers!
At the back of the room was a small stairway leading to a mezzanine that contained mainly old, rare and out-of-print books. Guess where I started to book around? You are right, on the mezzanine.
Too bad I did not bring my camera because I could have taken photos to share. I will next time, promised.
Now, without further ado, let’s me show you my findings…
Memories of Canada and Scotland - Speeches and Verses - Right Hon. The Marquis of Lorne, 1884, Dawson Publishers
Memories of Canada & Scotland by the Right Hon. The Marquis of Lorne published in 1884 by Dawson Brothers.
The book was dedicated to the members of the Royal Society of Canada and contains Speeches and Verses on Canadian subjects and others chiefly from Highland stories!
-Canada, 1882
-Quebec
-Gaelic Legends
-Farewell address at Inveraray
to name just a few of the more than 200 listed in the table of contents.
Can you see my smile ? 😉 I could not believe I had stumbled upon this book… As you often tell me Mairiuna, we do not choose books, they choose us !
Windows In Thrums & Auld Licht Idylls -J.M. Barrie 1912 Charles Scribner's Sons
Take a look at this one. Windows in Thrums & Auld Licht Idylls by James Matthew Barrie.
It’s the New York Charles Scribner’s Sons 1912 Illustrated Edition.
Between you and I, we have many copies of these novels written by one of our favorite authors, James Matthew Barrie, and we have them in many different editions, but this one was missing in our collection.
John Buchan - Montrose - Ed Dec 1928- Thomas Nelson & Sons
Another Scottish novel that I found is Montrose, by John Buchan.
Born in Perth, (1875-1940) he became a peer in 1935 as Lord Tweedsmuir on his appointment as Governor General of Canada.
He wrote The Thirty-Nine Steps and other adventure fiction.
I could go on and on like this, but realize that it would make this post much too long, so let me conclude with another gem of a book…
Sartor Resartus by Thomas Carlyle - Ed 1898 - George Bell And Sons
Sartor Resartus, The Life & Opinions of Herr Teufelsdrockh. Illustrated by Edmund J. Sullivan. Ed 1898.
His first major work, Sartor Resartus (1832) was written at his home (provided for him by his wife Jane Welsh, from her estate), Craigenputtock, and was intended to be a new kind of book: simultaneously factual and fictional, serious and satirical, speculative and historical.
It ironically commented on its own formal structure, while forcing the reader to confront the problem of where ‘truth’ is to be found.
Given the enigmatic nature of Sartor Resartus, it is not surprising that it was first received with little success. Its popularity developed over the next few years, and it was published in book form in Boston 1836, with a preface by Ralph Waldo Emerson, influencing the development of New England Transcendentalism.
The English edition followed in 1838. Source: Wiki
Remember Mairiuna when we drove into Ecclefechan, in Dumfries & Galloway, we fell upon this amazing statue, depicting Thomas Carlyle seated on a chair as if he was to deliver a speech?
I will digg it out and include in my next post.
Talk soon!
Janice
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