Book 31, Roughing It in the Bush (1852) - Susanna Moodie
From the back cover:
“When Roughing It in the Bush was published in 1852, it created an international sensation, not only for Susanna Moodie’s “glowing narrative of personal incident,” but also for her firm determination to puncture the illusions European land-agents were circulating about life in Canada. This frank and fascinating chronicle details her harsh – and humorous – experiences in homesteading with her family in the woods of Upper Canada.

Part documentary, part psychological parable, Roughing It in the Bush is, above all, an honest account of how one woman coped not only in a new world, but, more importantly, with herself.”

Other useful links:
the Wikipedia entry for Susanna Moodie

My thoughts:
I’m past the halfway point. I’m finding this book very engaging, especially since I’m now living just a short distance away from where Ms Moodie was living when she first arrived and where she settled in what was then bush country near the small settlement of Peterborough, Ontario. One thing that strikes me is the re-emphasis of the impression made in my readings of Traill and Jameson: how integrated with and integral to life in the non-urban areas of Upper Canada were the First Nations peoples. There’s a real sense that there were three founding “nations” of Canada: the aboriginal, the British (including the Scots and Irish of course), and the French.

Another thing that stands out is the difference between the two sisters. Catharine was excited, optimistic, and took a lot of joy in her circumstances, whereas Susanna dreads her future in Canada, finds displeasure in almost everything she encounters, and, though better than some whom she discusses, seems to look down on both the aboriginal people (frequently calling them ugly and unpleasant) and those Europeans of the lower classes. She also puts down the “Yankee settlers” as a whole. However, it is true that she seems to be (what might be considered) progressive in her attitudes toward blacks.

(More later when I’m finished.)

Book 28, Winter Studies and Summer Rambles in Canada (1838) - Anna Brownell Jameson
From the back cover:
“In 1836, Anna Jameson sailed from London, England, to join her husband in Upper Canada, where he was serving as attorney general. Shaking off the mud of Muddy York with mild disdain, young Mrs. Jameson swiftly sallied forth to discover the New World for herself.

The best known of all nineteenth century Canadian travel books, Winter Studies and Summer Rambles in Canada is Jameson’s wonderfully entertaining account of her adventures, ranging from gleeful observations about the pretensions of high society in the colonies to a “wild expedition” she took by canoe into Indian country.

Jameson’s keen eye, intrepid spirit, irreverent sense of humour and staunch feminist perspective make this journal an invaluable record of life in pre-Confederation Canada.”

Other useful links:
the Wikipedia entry for Anna Brownell Jameson
The Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online article on Anna Brownell Jameson and Winter Studies and Summer Rambles
a map of Upper Canada in 1836, the year Anna Brownell Jameson took her journey

My thoughts:
I’ve only just started this one, but one interesting thing is that Jameson’s husband is such a prominent figure in I’ve Got a Home in Glory Land, which I’ve just read.

—
This book took a very long time to read but in fact I did finish it back in May(!) It’s now November!

The format of this book is very unusual—perhaps unique. In 1836 Jameson travelled to Toronto just before winter set in, and of course in the days before central heating, there wasn’t much to do in the long Canadian winter, but hunker down and read. The first part of her book is like, well, like a book blog, detailing her reading and her thoughts about Goethe (whom she had personally met). I enjoyed the intermittent descriptions of her life in Toronto (& would have loved for her to give us more), but I’m afraid I couldn’t fully appreciate her literary analysis because I haven’t read anything by any of the authors she mentioned.

After the long cabin fever, Jameson was ready to go out & explore, and the second half of the book is a travel memoir. Despite advice to stay in what passed for civilisation (she was deeply homesick for the cultured salons of Europe), she decided to embark by herself on a remarkable trip into what was then the deep interior of the country. First, she journeyed down through the settled areas along Lake Erie’s northern shore and then by bateau and canoe north, traversing Lake Huron to Michilimackinack and Manatoulin islands (where she attended the annual gathering of First Nations of the area), and then south through Georgian Bay and Lake Simcoe, and finally travelling overland down Yonge Street back to Toronto. She describes the people (settlers & First Nations) in great detail, tells anecdotes, relates First Nations folk tales, discusses the Chippewa (i.e. Ojibwa) language & customs, and depicts her experience of the landscape with a wonderfully observant eye.

I absolutely loved this book. What a treasure Anna Brownell Jameson has left us! As long as it was, I wished it would go on for another 300 pages.