Canadian Crusoes
Encyclopedia
Canadian Crusoes: A Tale of the Rice Lake Plains is a novel by Catharine Parr Traill
. Written after The Backwoods of Canada (1836), it is her second Canadian
book. It was first published in 1852 by London
publisher Arthur Hall, Virtue, and Company. It was edited by her sister Agnes Strickland
.
The work is set in what is today central southern Ontario
, just south of Rice Lake
, where three children become lost and must fend for themselves. Drawing from its namesake, Daniel Defoe's 1719 novel Robinson Crusoe
, the novel sets out to show that these children, two English Canadian and one French Canadian, are able to work together to survive in the new world of Canada. This spirit of cooperation is emphasized by the fact that the children later meet a Mohawk
girl who joins their group and is able to help them with her own skills.
By the end of the novel, the children escape from the Canadian wilderness and are paired off - the English Canadian boy with the Mohawk girl and the French Canadian boy with the English Canadian girl. Their skills are all useful, and they must work together to survive. Metaphorically, their cooperation suggests the activity of peaceful nation-building. However, the English Canadian ethic is still privileged over the other views.
Catharine Parr Traill
Catharine Parr Traill, born Strickland was an English-Canadian author who wrote about life as a settler in Canada.-Biography:...
. Written after The Backwoods of Canada (1836), it is her second Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
book. It was first published in 1852 by London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
publisher Arthur Hall, Virtue, and Company. It was edited by her sister Agnes Strickland
Agnes Strickland
Agnes Strickland was an English historical writer and poet.-Biography:The daughter of Thomas Strickland of Reydon Hall, Suffolk, Agnes was educated by her father, and began her literary career with a poem, Worcester Field, followed by The Seven Ages of Woman and Demetrius...
.
The work is set in what is today central southern Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, just south of Rice Lake
Rice Lake
- Communities :In the United States* Rice Lake, Minnesota, a census-designated place in Clearwater County* Rice Lake , Minnesota, in Dodge and Steele counties* Rice Lake Township, St...
, where three children become lost and must fend for themselves. Drawing from its namesake, Daniel Defoe's 1719 novel Robinson Crusoe
Robinson Crusoe
Robinson Crusoe is a novel by Daniel Defoe that was first published in 1719. Epistolary, confessional, and didactic in form, the book is a fictional autobiography of the title character—a castaway who spends 28 years on a remote tropical island near Trinidad, encountering cannibals, captives, and...
, the novel sets out to show that these children, two English Canadian and one French Canadian, are able to work together to survive in the new world of Canada. This spirit of cooperation is emphasized by the fact that the children later meet a Mohawk
Mohawk nation
Mohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
girl who joins their group and is able to help them with her own skills.
By the end of the novel, the children escape from the Canadian wilderness and are paired off - the English Canadian boy with the Mohawk girl and the French Canadian boy with the English Canadian girl. Their skills are all useful, and they must work together to survive. Metaphorically, their cooperation suggests the activity of peaceful nation-building. However, the English Canadian ethic is still privileged over the other views.