| 32 Short Views of Mazo de la Roche Contributor(s): Bratton, Daniel (Author) |
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ISBN: 1550222740 ISBN-13: 9781550222746 Publisher: ECW Press OUR PRICE: $8.96 Product Type: Paperback Published: June 1996 Annotation: In this unconventional biography, Daniel Bratton intersperses his account of the chapters in Mazo de la Roche's life with photographs; old letters; passages from his own journal; conversations with the last living contacts with Mazo de la Roche and her cousin, Caroline Clement; and a delightful interview with Timothy Findley, who was a scriptwriter for the CBC's Whiteoaks of Jalna. Bratton's presentation of de la Roche's life through a multifaceted, postmodern narrative leads us into the extremely private, deliberately concealed world of one of Canada's most celebrated, yet deprecated, authors. "In frankly acknowledging - indeed exploiting - the limitations inherent in my undertaking", Bratton writes, "I hope that I have allowed something of the real Mazo de la Roche to emerge". Enter the doors of Jalna to discover not only the fascinating inner life of its creator, but also the possibilities for life-writing in an age of shifting literary boundaries. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Biography & Autobiography | Literary Figures |
| Dewey: B |
| Physical Information: 0.54" H x 5.53" W x 8.77" (0.60 lbs) 185 pages |
| Themes: - Sex & Gender - Feminine - Sex & Gender - Gay |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Honourable Mention in Quill & Quire's "Best Books of 1996" This unconventional biography of the woman who wrote Jalna and other chronicles of the Whiteoak family, approaches her life from multiple angles, including an interview with an old neighbour of the subject; critical commentary on her texts; photographs; conversations with the last living relatives of Mazo and her cousin, Caroline Clement; and a chronology and bibliography. This book draws on the research of earlier biographers, but Daniel Bratton broadens the scope of the discussion to include new areas of investigation. Besides archival research, he has reinterviewed subjects interviewed by previous biographers, and tracked down previously withheld information. He has also explored, as no one else has done, the geographical settings of Mazo's life and fictions, looking at them from a new perspective. The real strength of this book, however, which gives it an importance beyond de la Roche studies and Canadian literature, is its innovative format. Bratton's approach will recommend the book to those interested in the theory and practice of biography. It can be read as a book about life-writing, as well as a writing of the life of Mazo de la Roche. |