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Biography & Autobiography Historical

Quest Biographies Bundle — Books 31–35

Harriet Tubman / Laura Secord / Joey Smallwood / Prince Edward, Duke of Kent / John A. Macdonald

by (author) Rosemary Sadlier, Nathan Tidridge, Peggy Dymond Leavey, Ray Argyle & Ged Martin

foreword by J.J. Grant

Publisher
Dundurn Press
Initial publish date
Dec 2013
Category
Historical, General, General
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781459724358
    Publish Date
    Dec 2013
    List Price
    $32.99

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Description

Presenting five titles in the Quest Biography series that profiles prominent figures in Canada’s history. The important Canadian lives detailed here are: legendary Underground Railroad leader Harriet Tubman; Laura Secord, heroine of the War of 1812; Newfoundland politician Joey Smallwood, the final Father of Confederation; Prime Minister John A. Macdonald, the primary founder of Canada; and onetime governor general Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent, an important figure in Canada’s early development.

Includes

  • Harriet Tubman
  • Laura Secord
  • Joey Smallwood
  • Prince Edward, Duke of Kent
  • John A. Macdonald

About the authors

Rosemary Sadlier, OOnt, is a social justice advocate, researcher, writer and the former president of the Ontario Black History Society. She is a highly sought-after speaker on Black history, anti-racism and women's issues, and she has written multiple books on African Canadian history. A passionate advocate for Black history education, she was instrumental in establishing Black History Month and Emancipation Day in Canada, as well as in the creation of Lincoln Alexander Day. Rosemary was named to the Order of Ontario (OOnt) in 2008 and has received a number of other awards and accolades, including an honorary doctorate from OCAD University, the Queen's Diamond Jubilee medal and the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Award. The Rosemary Sadlier Freedom Award was created in her honor and has been presented annually since 2020. Rosemary lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Rosemary Sadlier's profile page

Nathan Tidridge teaches Canadian history and government and was awarded the Premier’s Award for Teaching Excellence (Teacher of the Year) in 2008. In 2011, he received the Charles Baillie Award for Excellence in Secondary School Teaching from Queen’s University. Nathan was one of six Ontarians in 2012 presented with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales.Nathan lives in Carlisle, Ontario, with his wife Christine and daughters.

Nathan Tidridge's profile page

Peggy Dymond Leavey was born in Toronto, the second in a family of five children. Her father was in the RCAF, and while Peggy was growing up in the 40s and 50s, the family was often on the move. Peggy began writing as a child and has since published poems, articles and plays for both adults and children. She has collaborated on three books of local history and has done freelance writing. Her book The Movie Years, published in 1989, details the years 1917-1934 when Trenton, Ontario was Canada’s filmmaking capital. Her first novel for children, Help Wanted: Wednesdays Only, published in 1994 by Napoleon, has been published in French as Un Petit Boulot du Mercredi. A Circle in Time was published in 1994, also by Napoleon. Her third book, Sky Lake Summer, published in 1999, was nominated for a Silver Birch Award and a Manitoba Young Readers’ Choice Award. It has also been chosen for the Accelerated Reading Program in the U.S. Peggy’s first teen novel, Finding My Own Way, was published by Napoleon in the fall of 2001. It was followed by another junior novel, The Deep End Gang, in 2003, which was an honour finalist for the Silver Birch Award. The Path Through the Trees (2005) was also a Silver Birch finalist. Her latest novel is Treasure at Turtle Lake (2007). The sequel, Trouble at Turtle Narrows, will be released in the fall of 2008. Today, Peggy lives near Trenton, Ontario. She and her husband have three grown children and eight grandchildren. She works part-time as a librarian, keeping her mornings free to write.

Peggy Dymond Leavey's profile page

Ray Argyle is a journalist, the author of several books of biography and political history, and the recipient of a Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal for contributions to Canadian life. During his long association with France, he has spent many years tracking the political careers of Charles de Gaulle and his successors. He lives in Kingston, Ontario.

Ray Argyle's profile page

Ged Martin is a graduate of Cambridge University. Awarded the United Kingdom's first chair in Canadian Studies by the University of Edinburgh, he is the author of Britain and the Origins of Canadian Confederation, 1837-67 and Favourite Son? John A. Macdonald and the Voters of Kingston 1841-1891. He is adjunct professor of history at National University of Ireland Galway, and at the University of the Fraser Valley.

Ged Martin's profile page

Residing in Canada during the formative period following the Royal Proclamation of 1763, the Duke of Kent participated in a society struggling to define itself. Prince Edward represented the vibrant role of the Crown in this country, and was the first to conceptually unite the English and French speaking peoples of British North America under the term “Canadian.” When he travelled to the newly constituted province of Upper Canada in 1792, Prince Edward visited the Loyalist settlements emphasizing British sovereignty in an area threatened by a growing American republic, a situation that would come to a head with the War of 1812. In Lower Canada, the duke embodied the role of the crown as an encourager and protector of French culture on the continent. Appointed commander-in-chief of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and later for all of British North America, the Duke of Kent has a dramatic impact on the Maritimes. For Halifax, in particular, the duke’s time in residence is still considered a “Golden Age” by Haligonians.Nathan Tildridge appropriately calls the Duke of Kent the “most honoured of Canada’s forgotten historical figures,” and this phrase rings true when I look out across my province. In Nova Scotia, and indeed in much of the rest of Canada, most notably Prince Edward Island, his name is still very much alive, a testimony to a man who lived with us longer than most of his notable contemporaries, and who now enjoys pride of place in our history books.Interestingly, Tildridge refers to the Duke of Kent as the “Father of the Canadian Crown.” Indeed, it was the Duke of Kent that began the process of meaningful travel throughout Canada, a hallmark of Canada’s royal family today. The duke’s presence in the country embodied the complex constitutions developing in British North America, as well as the Crown’s relationship with First Nations, French Canada, Loyalist settlements, and even the United States. Finally, it is the duke’s only daughter, Queen Victoria, who presided over Confederation and the creation of the Dominion of Canada.As Her Majesty’s representative in the province of Nova Scotia, I am pleased that this work highlights the place of Prince Edward in our national story.

J.J. Grant's profile page

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